


See Me After Class

by thatsaltybobcat



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Cheating, College AU, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Human AU, Implied Sexual Content, Infidelity, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Power Dynamics, Sexual Content, Student Charlie, professor alastor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:54:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24492343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsaltybobcat/pseuds/thatsaltybobcat
Summary: College was supposed to be a bright new experience for Charlotte Magne. But when her grades begin to suffer, she gladly accepts a proposition from one of her professors, Alastor Germain, with the promise of a passing grade. It was just supposed to be a one-time thing, it’s not like she’s beginning to fall in love with him or anything!
Relationships: Alastor & Charlie Magne, Alastor/Charlie Magne
Comments: 103
Kudos: 473





	1. It's a deal

Moving out for college was supposed to help Charlie find her independence. Where she’d discover who she was and how to be on her own in an  _ almost _ adult setting! New friends, people with similar interests, quiet study sessions in the library, and finding her passions. She aspired to be a cognitive behavioral therapist for at-risk kids, those who truly needed her most. She wanted to give them outlets to better themselves, whether through art, writing, or just simply having someone to open up to. All she wanted to do was help turn people’s lives around. And, four fun years of college were just what she needed to get her degree and become certified.

Boy, how wrong she was.

Charlotte was never the best student, and while she certainly wasn’t ever at risk of failing before college, her name was never on any honor rolls. Even with all her extracurriculars growing up, she was honestly surprised that she managed to get into Harvard in the first place. Especially with the gap years that she had taken after graduating high school to decide just what she wanted to do as a career. If it wasn’t for her father’s influence as the president of the campus, Charlie was sure she would’ve been stuck at a community college.

Due to the rather unethical means that had gotten her on campus in the first place, most of her professors were willing to curve up her grade to make sure that she was never at risk of failing. Lest they be called in for a long meeting with President Magne, or a poor annual review by the campus. In the end, it was just easier to give her a B than risk their jobs over a single student.

Having been well aware of this, Charlie still wanted to try her absolute best to earn the grades on her own. She spent long nights studying for her exams, and took every study opportunity, but still only managed to maintain her B’s and high C’s. While she hated being handed things in a situation that might very well harm her academic career in the future, she couldn’t bring herself to tell her professors to grade her like any ordinary student. If she flunked out of college, she’d never earn her degree, after all. So she let it happen and kept ending semesters with grades just high enough to make it onto the next. 

That’s where she was now, halfway through her fourth semester. Charlie was in her final lecture for the week, a Thursday afternoon. Sitting in her Cognitive Psychology class, it was one of her worst classes, but so imperative for her degree that it was the class that took up most of her time in late-night study sessions. The last thing she wanted was to have to take this class again, it would only prolong her studies, and quite possibly mess up graduation.

She sat at her desk now, trying to follow all of the notes that their Professor was lecturing as he pointed at different slides of his PowerPoint. He always seemed to enjoy his lectures, chatting away with examples of each point, obviously happy to be in class teaching them all. And people seemed to do well in his class, for the most part. With mostly A’s and B’s from the more skilled students. Sometimes that meant a professor would curve up the grades of the lesser students at the end of the semester, to bump up their average along with his own success rate.

But, Alastor Germain was not one to give handouts. Nor did he believe in any curves. The grade you got was almost always the one you earned. If a large majority of students got a similar grade or got a certain question wrong on any given exam or homework assignment, he would reteach the topic so everyone would have another chance to understand it. But, in any other situation, the grade you received was the grade that you were stuck with. 

More importantly, he seemed to be the only professor that wasn’t intimidated by her or her father’s status.

When it was time to get their midterm exam back, Professor Germain closed his laptop, shutting off the slide show that he had just been lecturing from. He walked over from his podium to his desk in the far corner of the lecture hall. 

“Now then, my students. I suppose you’re all truly bursting at the seams to see your grades!” He chimed, picking up the stack of booklets that sat on the desk and waving them around slightly. “I certainly enjoyed grading these, many of you have very interesting points for your essays. And even more of you did a simply wonderful job, some of the best grades of my career just in this semester!” Alastor added as he sat back against the edge of his desk, looking around at the students that were seated around the long tables in front of him.

“With that being said, a few of you have not done as well as I had hoped. Some of you may need to consider studying harder in an attempt to maintain a passing grade.” Another pause, this time to watch some of the students exchange nervous glances among one another, never making eye contact as he couldn’t help but chuckle about some of the fearful looks. “Alright, when I call your name, please come up to take your exam. After that, you may leave.”

His later words struck fear in Charlie’s chest, if there was a grade that was bad enough to warrant their professor making such a comment, there was reason to believe that it might include her. As he called out names, students came up one by one to collect their tests. Most would breathe a sigh of relief when they looked at their grade on their way out, but others would just slump their shoulder and give the Professor a pitiful look. Which he would only respond to by maintaining his indifferent smile, until the student would turn to leave with slumped shoulders.

“Ms. Charlotte Magne,” the professor finally called, picking up one of the papers and looking over at her with that same smile on his face. Locking eyes with her as she slowly got to her feet. She maintained eye contact for just a moment before she couldn’t bear his intense stare, quickly looking down at her feet as she picked up her backpack. 

Taking quick steps from her desk over to his, she was barely able to look up at him as he handed over her test. But, from the quick glance that she took as she gently accepted the paper from his hand, she saw his smile grow for just a moment. Something shining behind his eyes that she couldn’t place, but it made her flinch away, not saying a word as she turned around to leave before looking at the grade that she had received.

57% F.

Charlie almost stopped dead in her tracks on her way out the door, stumbling through the threshold out into the hallway. Dread creeping up her spine like ice as she felt her heart begin to race, this was the first failing grade that she had ever gotten since she started college. Even in previous exams for this very class, she never received a grade lower than a C-. Charlie walked down the hall until she was standing in the lounge, a few students sitting in chairs doing homework or mindlessly watching videos on their phones. 

_ There… must’ve been some mistake, _ she thought she knew the coursework just enough to at least pass the exam! All the late nights she’d been up studying, all the parties Angel would offer to drive her too that she passed up just to be prepared for this exam. Only to fail… that couldn’t be right.

Fighting back a few frustrated tears, she folded up the test and stuffed it into her pocket. Charlie couldn’t just let this slide, if there was a mistake, surely Professor Germain would correct it. If nothing else he seemed to be a man of integrity. And if she had truly earned this grade, maybe he offered some tutoring after classes, or knew another student that may be able to help.

Waiting in the lounge, she watched her fellow classmates slowly filter out of the class, walking past her without much thought. A few of them left in groups to discuss their grades or made comments both positive and negative about their professor’s harsh grading style. Waiting until she was certain she would be able to have a private conversation before walking back down the hall towards the classroom. 

With every step that brought her closer to the room, she couldn’t help but begin to overthink the situation. About her future here on campus, this really was the class that might make or break her, the one that she really needed to pass to keep studying here at Harvard.

She felt her nerves spike when she stood by the still-open door. He was such a blunt professor, brutally honest at the best of times. Charlie couldn’t help but be nervous as to what he might say, what if he just flat out refused? Or what if he was too busy to help her?

She wouldn’t know unless she tried.

Gently knocking on the door, she slowly peeked her head into the classroom. “Professor Germain?” Charlie called softly looking around until she spotted him at his desk, scribbling away at some paperwork and still unaware of her presence. So, she tried again, gently tapping her knuckles against the door to try and gain his attention. “Professor? I was wondering if I could take just a moment of your time.”

Alastor had heard her the second time, looking up at her from his paperwork. He offered her his usual smile when his eyes landed on her. “Ah! Ms. Magne, I was beginning to wonder if a student was coming by to speak with me. Please, come on in,” he chimed, motioning to the spot in front of his desk. “I assume that this might have something to do with your exam, not satisfied with your grade, perhaps?”

“Y-yes, it is,” Charlie confirmed. Leaving the classroom door open as she walked over to the desk. Picking the paper up from her jeans pocket to look at the grade again. “And, I know that you don’t change grades after they’re finalized-”

“That’s correct, most people did very well on the exam,” her professor affirmed. Setting the pen he was holding down beside his leather briefcase. “I was honestly surprised that you ended up getting the grade that you did, you were doing average work up until now. Did you get nervous about taking the midterm?”

“A little bit, I suppose,” Charlie nodded, picking at one of the corners of her exam. “Well… I was wondering if you were willing to maybe help me with my homework and tutor me for a little while? I know you usually don’t tutor your students because you’re busy. So maybe if you knew another student that might be able to help. I’m not used to getting such a poor grade, and I really want to try and improve my average anyway I can.”

She couldn’t help but think that she was bothering him now, the way he was leaning forward on the desk, resting his chin in the palm of his hand and an elbow on the desk. He had an almost lazy expression on his face as he watched her fumble for the right words to make her case. Maybe this was all a mistake, she probably should’ve just begged one of her classmates to help her. They probably would’ve agreed if she offered to pay them, and at least then she wouldn’t feel like a flustered mess rambling on to their professor-

“What time are you free during the week, Charlotte? I have classes today and Friday that usually leave me about two hours between them. I tend to eat lunch around this time, but maybe if you give me, let’s say… thirty minutes after class on Thursdays and come here at the same time on Fridays. We’d have about three hours every week to go over the material and make sure you have a good understanding of everything I teach. Would that work for you? Meeting two days a week for about an hour and a half each day?”

“O-oh!” Charlie exclaimed, perking up from her spot.

“Were you expecting me to refuse to aid you, Ms. Magne? I too want to want to help you improve your average anyway I can,” He responded, standing up from his desk to hold out his hand. “Is it a deal, Charlotte?” 

“Yes, professor Germain, that sounds just perfect! I can most certainly do that. Thank you so much!” She was practically bouncing in place as she reached out to grip his hand without a second thought, happily shaking with an excited squeal. All the nervous energy that she had when she came it was now replaced with excitement. 

“You’re quite welcome, Charlotte. I’ll see you this time tomorrow.”

“Y-you most certainly will! Have a wonderful afternoon professor!”

-

Charlie was happy when she returned to her dorm after their meeting, walking in through the door with a pep in her step. She dropped her backpack at the door and leaped onto her bed with a content sigh.

Vaggie, her roommate, was sitting on her bed with their friend Angel. The two of them were on his switch, playing some fighting game that Charlie didn’t recognize. “Well, someone looks happy!” Vaggie observed, pausing their game just before Angel could land a critical hit on her character. Causing the young man to throw his arms up in protest.

“Hey! Couldn’t this wait till the end of the match? I was just about to win!” he exclaimed, turning around to face Vaggie who was beginning to get off her bed to join Charlie on hers. At his request, Vaggie picked back up her controller, and proceeded to end the match entirely. Turning off the console for good measure, chuckling when her friend let out a shout. “You bitch! We were almost done with the tournament!”

Vaggie only rolled her eyes, “Come on Angel, we’ve been playing all afternoon! Charlie just came back from class. Besides, curfew for people who don’t live on campus is in an hour. You’ll be having to pack up and head back to your college.”

Angel let out a huff, packing up the switch before putting it back into his backpack. He didn’t go to Harvard with either of them, but Vaggie had known him since middle school. So he came by almost every day after his classes to hang out with her and Charlie. “I know when the curfew is, ya stick in the mud. No need to remind me.”

“So Charlie, you seem to be in a really good mood! Did you end up doing well on your midterm?” Vaggie asked, sitting on the edge of Charlie’s bed. 

Charlie sat up, hugging one of her pillows to her chest as she smiled warmly at Vaggie. “Oh, um, no actually. In fact, I ended up failing the midterm.” She admitted, shrugging at her friend as she maintained the same smile. 

“You failed? Oh, Charlie, I’m so sorry to hear that!” Vaggie was quick to offer her roommate a hug in an attempt to comfort her, pulling away to look her up and down. “If you failed your midterm, why do you seem so happy?” She inquired, resting her hands on Charlie’s shoulders.

“Which class was this anyway? Which professor was dumb enough to fail the campus president’s daughter?” Angel interjected, leaning forward from his spot on the bed.

“Oh, it was my Cognitive Psychology class, the one with Professor Germain. He’s not dumb, Angel. I kinda appreciate that he isn’t intimidated by who my dad is, it’s nice that I get graded fairly,” Charlie corrected him, quick to come to her professor’s aid. There was nothing wrong with his desire to maintain fair grading among all of his students. And, to not be swayed by the idea of a meeting with her father, there was something really admirable about that. That he wasn’t scared of what her father might say, that he still runs the class how he wants. And the blonde couldn’t help but smile at remembering that bravery.

“Dang girl, alright if you’re so sure.” Angel hummed, looking at her with an odd expression as he began to type away on his phone.

“But that’s not the point,” she continued. “After I got my exam back I was upset. So I waited until after the class had ended and I went back to talk to him to see if he was willing to tutor me after class to help improve my grade. And, he agreed!” Charlie said, squeezing the pillow against her chest. “So I’m going to head back over there tomorrow and we’re gonna go over some of the homework. Wasn’t it so nice of him to offer-”

“OOH girl!” Angel interrupted her with an excited squeal, holding out his phone to her. On the screen was a picture of her professor from the school’s website, along with a little biography about him and his career. “His name is Alastor? That’s hot as fuck!” Angel fell back on the bed, beginning to zoom in and out of the image to get a good look at every feature on the professor's face. “Ya mean to tell me you’re getting some  _ private _ study sessions with this stud? Color me jealous! Gonna go in there for some  _ extracurriculars _ ?” 

The insinuation made Charlie’s face go bright red with embarrassment, but why it managed to get her so flustered, she really couldn’t explain. She didn’t even try to defend herself, hiding her face into the pillow that she was holding.

Vaggie was the one who spoke up. Resting her hand on Charlie’s back and glaring back at Angel with a groan. “Oh my GOD Angel that’s disgusting! He’s a professor!” She retorted, scowling when the remark only got the young man to wiggle his eyebrows. “Plus he’s so creepy, I had him my second year and I got such a skeevy vibe from him!” 

“Ooooh so you mean he’s kinky? All the more reason to go for it! Charlie I mean come on if you don’t take him up on his offer then I will, you think he’s into guys?” Angel asked, smirking when he watched Charlie squeak and duck even more into her pillow. “You can’t tell me that you haven’t ever even considered it!”

“O-oh no Angel, it’s not even like that! He’s just my professor and I asked him to help me with my grade! It’s his job to do that.” Charlie whined pathetically, trying to ignore that rampant flush that was coloring her entire face. “Besides, I think he’s married or something, he wouldn’t be interested in anything like that!”

“So you have thought about it! And, what does it matter if he’s married? If he’s willing to shack it up with a student to give her an A, I don’t think he’d care about cheating on his wife!”

“A-Angel please don’t-”

“Ya gotta sleep with him!”

“ANTHONY  ¡Cállate la boca!” Vaggie shouted, covering Charlie’s ears as she glared daggers at her long time friend. “That is a completely inappropriate remark to make! Charlie has way too much integrity to pull a stunt like that, it could get her and Alastor in so much trouble!  _ Some _ of us have enough restraint to not pull such a stunt just for a passing grade.” 

It was enough to get Angel to calm down, but not enough to let up completely. “That’s how I know it works! I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have in college if I hadn’t pulled a few strings in my favor!” Motioning his hand in such a way that caused Vaggie to let out a disgusted grunt. 

“Just listen for a second,” Angel tried to reason. “Charlie, I’m not saying you gotta do this girl, you could just make this about actually studying and some boring classwork. I’m just saying if he’s receptive to the idea, it might be something you enjoy! From just what I’ve read on the website and from what I’ve heard you say about him throughout the semester, he seems like someone you could be into! Plus, you’d get an A! I don’t see what the problem is with that. But, if you want to make sure that he’s actually into it, there are a few signs you could look for to be sure.”

“OKAY that’s ENOUGH,” Vaggie said, getting off the bed and grabbing Angel by his bicep. “I think it’s time that you headed out Angel, think about what you’re telling this poor girl to do! Ugh, you really disgust me sometimes.” Picking up his bag, she shoved it against his chest and began to push him back over towards the door to their dorm. “You can come back once you’ve realized how to talk around people who aren’t as skeevy as you!”

“Oh come on! Vaggie just let me tell her what to look for!” Angel argued, trying to turn himself around as she shoved him through the door. “Charlie! If he starts to-” The door was slammed into his face before he could finish.

“Ugh, I can’t believe him sometimes! Charlie, I’m so sorry about him, you know how he can get.” Vaggie groaned, rubbing her temples in an exasperated manner as she made her way back to Charlie’s bed. Beginning to pat the blonde’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. “Are you okay?”

Charlie slowly picked herself up from the pillow, rubbing her face in an attempt to cool the blush that was still rampant across her skin. “Um… yeah. I just wasn’t expecting him to say all that,” She huffed, setting the pillow down in her lap with a low breath.

Vaggie nodded. “It’s gross, right? The very idea of sleeping with a teacher… that’s not what you were planning to do, right?” She asked softly, looking at her friend with sheer concern and worry. But the question only made Charlie go bright red.

“O-Of course I wasn’t thinking about! Oh my god, Vaggie I’m not doing  _ that _ poorly,” Charlie shrilled, collapsing back on her bed with a whine. “It was just to go over homework, that’s it!”

“Okay, okay! I just had to be sure. I don’t want Angel putting those idea’s in your head. It doesn’t matter if it ends up working. Because you will get caught eventually, and that’s something he doesn’t realize. He’ll get sloppy and the wrong person will find out, and he’ll get expelled and all those teachers he’s persuading will get fired,” Vaggie said, picking up her backpack from the side of her bed. Slinging it over her shoulder as she pulled out her cellphone. “Alright, I have a date with Loona tonight and I’ll probably end up staying with her for the night. Do you think you’ll be okay by yourself?”

“Yeah, I should be okay. I’m just going to get some homework done, and maybe get some notes ready for tutoring tomorrow,” Charlie told her, covering her eyes with a soft nod.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Her roommate asked, peering back over at the blonde when the reply sounded less than convincing. “I can see if Loona might want to reschedule for over the weekend or something.”   
  
“No please, go on your date! Have fun and all that. I’ll be fine, I swear.” Charlie confirmed sitting up to wave her hands at Vaggie, offering as wide of a smile as she could muster. “Angel just caught me off guard, that’s it! I’m not offended or anything, he didn’t mean anything by it.” 

“Well, alright. If you need anything, just text me okay?” 

“I will, thanks Vags. Have fun on your date,” Charlie said. Watching Vaggie hesitate for just a moment before walking over to the door, putting her phone to her ear just as it began to ring. She greeted her girlfriend over the phone as she left their dorm, leaving Charlie alone for the evening.

Now left in silence, Charlie was finally able to think. 

She replayed the events earlier in the day, the interaction she had with her professor that day. Remembering the intense stare that he gave her when she took back her exam, it sent chills down her spine. How willing he was to help her when previously he never seemed to offer tutoring for students. 

Could he really like her in that way? It seemed so far fetched. Alastor Germain appeared to be nothing more than a complete professional, aside from cracking the occasional joke that would fit with the lesson they were learning that day. Or the times he played quiet jazz music during times of quiet work or after exams to help calm his students. But, he never spoke about his personal life, or made any remarks that rose red flags.

Picking her phone from the corner of her bed, she needed to make a phone call.

...

“Angel, do you think you could tell me what those signs were?”


	2. Tutor Time

It was just a little over thirty minutes after Alastor's Friday class concluded when Charlie arrived, having waited a few extra minutes just in case he needed a little longer to finish his lunch. She was outside the classroom door now, fidgeting nervously on the other side of the open doorway as she tried to find the courage to go in. Charlie was rightfully a little anxious if what Angel said was true, there was suddenly so much more riding on this tutoring session aside from a passing grade. 

Recalling their conversation the previous evening, the way he squealed on and on about being right. “Oooh girl I knew it! No one would be able to resist a man like that! Are you going to go for it tomorrow? You gotta tell me how it is!”

“It’s not like that Angel!” Charlie had hushed him, scared to speak too loudly in case she’d be heard through the walls by other dorming students. “I just want to know what to look for to see if he’s actually interested or not. I didn’t say I was going to pursue anything!” She reminded him with another hiss through her teeth, cupping the bottom end of her phone, trying to mask Angel’s voice from reverberating off the walls when he continued to shout.

“Uh-huh, yeah, sure. And, I’m straight,” Angel retorted, calling her bluff. “Come on baby, you know that I’m the last person that would snitch on ya or judge. I’m just surprised you changed your mind so quickly!”

“I didn’t change my mind, nothing has changed!” She whined, digging her feet into her comforter with a huff, scrunching the fabric between her toes. “It’s just to see if he thinks this is going to be more than just a study session. I want to be sure. Because… I don’t know if I feel comfortable being in that situation,” She affirmed, leaning back until she collapsed against her pillow. “Can you please just tell me what to look for?”

“Alright blondie, no need to get your panties in a twist. Just remember, if you don’t start with your own signals, he ain’t gonna go too far.” Angel reminded her, but Charlie was sure that Professor Germain wasn’t going to push boundaries unless she reciprocated, he seemed like such a gentleman. “Now, here's what you need to look for.”

Charlie replayed all the signs in her head, trying desperately to not forget any of them. Was there a specific order that they would be in? What if he only did one of them? Maybe two at most, would those just then be chalked up to coincidence? Angel didn’t tell her how many signs needed to be presented for her to be sure, was she supposed to play it by ear? That left way too much to chance! If she ended up being wrong would he report her to the dean, her father? She’d be so humiliated!

And what about if he ended up doing all of the signs, and even then it was just a coincidence? Professor Germain had already done the first step, _ he was willing to help her at the drop of a hat _ . No questions asked and extremely accommodating. But, that could just be him trying to be a good teacher, wanting to help all his students that were willing to go the extra mile for a good grade. So could that even really count-

“Charlotte Magne! I was just beginning to wonder where you were,” Alastor chimed, his cheery call startling Charlie from her daydreaming, stumbling back in surprise as he continued to speak. “I was starting to think you had forgotten about our arrangement, yet here you are!” He beamed, leaning against the doorframe on his forearm as he watched her begin to fumble together a response, a complacent smile on his lips.

“Professor! O-of course I wouldn’t forget. I was just… um… just getting some texting out of the way! So that I didn’t have to keep my phone open while we were working,” She prattled, trying to calm her suddenly racing heartbeat. Trying desperately to calm the blush that suddenly threatened to creep across her face when their eyes locked, he held her gaze intently. The smile on his face only grew when her breath caught in her throat.

“I hope that you’ve gotten that all squared away because I’m expecting your undivided attention for the next hour or so. Please, come on in. I’ve got an extra chair set up at my desk, feel free to set your things over there.” He said, stepping to the side to open up the doorway for her. “I hope you’ve come eager to work!”

“I have sir. I skimmed over the homework you’ve assigned, and made notes of what pieces I wasn’t completely sure of. I thought that would be a good place to start,” Charlie began, walking into the classroom and taking a seat at the chair that sat on the opposite side of his desk. He already had it cleared of most of his belongings, his leather briefcase leaning up against the side of the desk, with a few papers stacked neatly in its corner.

“Splendid idea! It’s always nice to see a student take the proper initiative to do what it takes to get their grade up. You’d think in such a prestigious school there would be many more students like you. But, I’ve seen far too many students willing to let their grades drop." He sighed, pulling the door closed, waiting for the automatic lock to click before making his way back towards her and his desk. 

_ 'Signal one, he’ll close the door. That way you won’t be interrupted if anything happens.' _

Charlie tried to remain calm as he walked over to his side of the desk, picking through her backpack to get all the worksheets that he had given her the day before for homework. But, she couldn’t help but steal glances at him as he settled in his seat across from her. He really was handsome, it was something she was always aware of, but it seemed so much more obvious now. A beautiful smile that he wore so well, a chiseled jaw that helped frame the rest of his face. He was tall- over six feet- and rather thin. But as he rolled up his sleeves above his elbows, she saw how toned his forearms were. He appeared to be rather strong, she couldn’t help but wonder if he worked out. 

She tried to focus on the papers she had taken out, setting them out neatly on the half of the desk that he had given her to use. But, she couldn’t help but steal glances as she finished setting up. Every time she looked and their eyes did meet, his intense amber gaze looked straight through her. It sent pulses of heat radiating down from her face to warm her whole body. Alastor seemed like he was aware of this because every time her eyes darted back down to her paper his smile would widen in delight.    
  
“Now then, Charlotte shall we begin?” Professor Germain began, picking up a pen from the corner of his desk as he leaned a little closer to look at her worksheet.

“That would be great, Professor.” Finally, something else to focus on besides the mounting tension in the room.

For a while, it was like any other study session. She would ask questions about a certain definition or ask for an example to help her understand. He would answer in a patient manner, gently explaining each point to her best he could. Sometimes more than once on points that were particularly difficult, but he never seemed to get annoyed with the repetition, despite her profuse apologies for every time she’d ask him to repeat himself, or to use a different example that she might understand better. He never sighed in annoyance or grimaced at her request, instead, he would just smile and offer another example to see if she understood it better than the last.

It was so different from how he usually taught his class. Professor Germain was a teacher who never liked to explain himself twice. Whenever a student wasn’t paying attention, or on their phone, he would almost ignore them. And, if they would ask him to repeat himself on a point that he had just gone over, Alastor was always quick with a stinging retort about the importance of maintaining a professional environment during class time, and that paying attention was an important skill to have.

This was a whole other Alastor, and Charlie couldn’t help but think it was especially for her. It made her heart swell with warmth at the thought. Her nerves eased as the tutoring went on, growing ever more comfortable alone in his presence. She was almost upset she hadn’t asked him to help her sooner.

But, things were still rather professional. Besides him stealing a glance at her every now and again, he didn’t try anything. He kept his hands to himself, save for occasionally pointing at one of the definitions on her worksheet, or tapping her wrist lightly with his pen whenever she got a question correct. But, not else pointed in the direction of him wanting to do anything more than help her study. And, she couldn’t help but think that maybe this was all in her head, and that Angel had just gotten to her and made her see signs that just weren’t there.

And, then his phone rang.

He straightened up when a generic jingle chimed from his briefcase, rather loud and jarring from their previously quiet interaction. “Oh, please excuse me Charlotte, I have to see who that is,” Alastor said, leaning over to pick his briefcase up from the ground. Rummaging through it until he pulled out his cellphone. Pausing for a moment to read the caller ID, she notes how his expression quickly changed. His smile faltered for only a moment but it was an unmistakable grimace, and his brow furrowed in unmistakable irritation. Quickly, he clicked decline before tossing his phone back into the spot it previously was in his briefcase, latching it closed and turning back to focus on the homework.

Without much thought, Charlie’s curiosity got the better of her. “Who was that?” Setting her pen down on top of her paper to lean a little closer across the desk. She knew that personal stuff wasn’t something he liked to discuss with his students, recalling times when more casual students would try to call him by his first name, or ask him what he had done over the weekend. His response would always be something akin to remaining professional between himself and students, and leaving it at that. 

But, Angel’s pesky signs wormed their way back into her head.  _ He’ll open up to you about personal things, and be more willing to talk about anything besides course work. _

He paused at her question, almost like he was mulling over if he should answer her or not. “My wife,” Alastor said at last. He began to toy at the wedding band that was around his finger, almost like it was suddenly far too uncomfortable to wear. “I tell her not to call me at work, and yet-” He cut himself off with a shrug, leaning back in his seat. 

_ So he is married _ , Charlie thought, looking down at the ring he was wearing with a pointed stare. But, she couldn’t ignore the fact that he appeared so distasteful to be discussing his marriage. Or how he fidgeted with the band whenever it was brought up. “Maybe it was an emergency? If she was willing to ignore what you asked of her.” She just needed to be sure.

“I’d bet a lot of my hard-earned money that it was anything but an emergency, my dear. I know exactly why she’s calling me, she knows that I’m currently on break and I usually stop at home to get my lunch. She was looking to discuss something with me, but I suppose not being home wasn’t going to stop her from trying,” Alastor continued, humming distastefully when he seemed to recall either the conversation they were supposed to have, or maybe it was the very idea that he was supposed to go home and speak with his wife at some point. 

She watched him carefully for a moment, how he continued to fiddle with his ring until- when it seemed like his thoughts completely overwhelmed him in that moment- he pulled it off his finger. Letting it drop into his briefcase alongside the paperwork and his cellphone, disappearing into the dark between sheets of stationery. 

Signal three,  _ if he ends up being married, him removing his ring is probably the clearest sign he could give. _

That, and it didn’t seem like he told his wife he was beginning to tutor her starting today. He seemed to be going out of his way to make sure he didn’t have to go home or that he was going out of his way to not see her. 

“Well, I’m really sorry she tried to force you into that conversation, it seems like it's something that you’re not too comfortable talking about. She should respect that,” Charlie murmured. Resting her elbow on the desk and her chin in her hand. “So, we don’t have to talk about that anymore if you don’t want to. Let’s change the subject, what do you like to do in your free time?”

Alastor seemed to catch on to what she was trying to do, and a smile quickly returned to his face. Leaning forward so he too could support his chin in his hands much like she had done. “That sounds like a wonderful idea, dear. But, I must say that I’m far more interested in what you do in your free time.”

_ He’ll want to hear more about you…  _

The rest of their tutoring session was just a conversation. The two of them discussing anything and everything, their interests, favorite music and hobbies, and everything else she could think of. By the time the alarm rang to let them know that their session was over, it felt far more like a date than tutoring. 

“Well look at that, how time flies.” Professor Germain said, taking out his phone to quickly turn off the alarm. “It seems that we’ve lost track of time, and we haven’t finished your homework!” He continued, looking over at the half-completed worksheet that was still between them. “I’m terribly sorry about that.”

“Oh, that’s okay Professor! I think I was the one who derailed the conversation.” She said, beginning to pack up the papers that she had brought with her. “But, it was a nice conversation nonetheless.”

“It certainly was, and it’s a shame that it had to end so soon. But, this homework is due next Thursday, and I hate the idea of you not being able to get the help you need to complete the worksheet since we aren’t supposed to meet until that afternoon,” Alastor said, standing up from the desk. Walking over to her side of the desk and leaning against it to watch her pack. Charlie kept her gaze squared on her bag, but she listened intently as he continued to speak.

“This isn’t part of our agreement, I know. But I will be here tomorrow evening to grade some papers for another class. If you want to, you can come by around six and we can finish your homework.”

This was it, that opening that Angel talked about,  _ he’ll give you an opening to take things to the next level. It’ll always have an easy way out so you don’t feel like you have to go… _

She hadn’t expected it so soon, and the very idea sent her heart racing yet again. And a flush bloomed across her cheeks as she zipped up her bag. This session was so nice, they had so many similar interests and conversation happened so naturally between them. Would it… really be so bad if she indulged just this once? It would just be to help her grade, and after that, it would just be regular studying up until the end of the semester. 

“I’ll have to see, I might get stuck with some other homework. But, I’ll try my best to be here,” Charlie said softly, glancing up at him to see that he had outstretched his hand. Offering it to her to help her out of her chair. She took it without much thought, allowing him to pull her up to her feet. 

“Wonderful to hear, I hope to see you then Charlotte,” Professor Germain mused, letting his hand linger on hers for just a moment, running his thumb along the back of her hand before letting it go.

The blonde wasn’t ready for the contact to end just yet, the way he had held her hand was so comforting, drawing her in with his soft words that made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. In a daring move, she leaned over to ever so gently grip his wrist, running her thumb over his toned forearm as she gently squeezed. “Oh please, you can call me Charlie, Professor.”

He hummed softly when she held onto his wrist, watching her small delicate fingers interlock with his once again. Noting how perfectly they seemed to fit. “Charlie? My my, what an interesting nickname.” A nickname that danced off his tongue and nearly caused her to melt at the utterance. At her lead, he took her hand yet again on his own. This time, he brought it up to his lips. “If we’re going ahead and skipping formalities…” He pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles, just barely brushing his lips against her skin. “Then please, when we’re alone, call me Alastor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up during our first tutoring session!! Seems like Angel might've known what he was talking about!
> 
> Plus! Another mention of Alastor's mysterious wife, I wonder who it could be!!


	3. Helping Hand

It was almost sad when they parted ways, Alastor had escorted her out the door after she had gotten the rest of her things together and opened it for her like a true gentleman. He took a quick peek around the hall, seeing a few of the classroom doors open and one or two students meandering down the far corner of the walkway- luckily out of earshot- before leaning against the doorframe. “Have a wonderful evening,  _ Charlie _ . I do hope to see you tomorrow evening,”

“I-it’s a date,” Charlie murmured, clutching her backpack tightly to her chest as she forced her voice to not waver or blurt out too loudly. Scared that one wrong move might freak him out or possibly make her wake up from what was most likely the best dream she’s ever had. But, he didn’t seem deterred, chuckling softly at her before sitting up straight from the doorway, keeping the door wide open as he walked back to his desk. Charlie couldn’t move from her spot until he was out of sight, only then did she have the gumption to turn and walk out the opposite way back towards her dorm room.

Out of sight was not out of mind, and Charlie felt as though she was floating on cloud nine while she made her way back to her room. All of the outside clutter of other students talking amongst themselves or walking to other classes, and groundskeepers keeping up the lawns and hedges might as well have been on another planet altogether. Wearing rose-colored glasses, the only thing Charlie could focus on was the feeling of his hand in hers still ghosting between her fingers, warm and inviting, and… just so right. Or how he spoke to her when they were alone, his voice a gentle hum rather than his usual charismatic bravado that he had when addressing the class. Or when he removed his ring and then wanted to learn more about her, it made her heart begin to melt. 

She was having a hard time remembering why she was so nervous being alone with Alastor in the first place, they had really hit it off so well. Conversation came so easy between them, jokes and quips between them were so casual. It was like they had been friends for years. Tomorrow was going to be fun, she just knew it. Even if these interactions were just a one-time thing for a grade, there was no reason why she couldn’t enjoy every moment.

When Charlie came back to her dorm room Vaggie was sitting at her desk, typing away at her laptop. Angel was laying across Vaggie’s bed, watching a video on his phone. When Charlie closed the door behind her, her roommate looked up from her computer and was already out of her desk chair to greet her there. “Hey! How was your tutoring session with Professor Germain? Everything go okay when you were alone with him? I hope Angel didn’t make this weird with his stupid sexual comments yesterday!” Giving a pointed glare at their friend who simply shrugged from his place of Vaggie’s bed, but kept his mouth shut besides that. 

Her sudden concern was like a cold splash of water on Charlie’s optimism. Oh, that’s right, she was going behind Vaggie’s back trying to do this, lying to her best friend about her intentions and completely ignoring all the hard work she’d previously accomplished. “Oh! It was fine, I got a lot of work done. He was really patient and made sure I understood everything.” She chimed, trying to maintain as happy of a facade as she could manage.

“Yeah? That’s good! I’m glad you’re finally getting the help you need, those grades will be up in no time!” Vaggie said with a chipper tone, patting Charlie’s shoulders before turning around to look back at Angel again. “See Angel? I told you there was nothing weird going on, it’s just studying. Charlie would never stoop to your level and sleep with a Professor!”

_ Oh, right _ ,  _ he was her Professor _ . This little rendezvous that she had planned was going to go against so many codes of ethics among students and professors, crossing so many boundaries of professionalism, and quite possibly a law or two. Charlie felt all her confidence fizzle out with Vaggie’s quick reminding. Suddenly she felt all too ashamed of how the study session ended to maintain her optimism for tomorrow. Quietly she slips away from the door to stand awkwardly in the small amount of free space in the room, forcing herself to maintain a polite smile.

“Oh well, isn’t there egg on my face? I guess you were right, Vaggie.” Angel sighed, playing up his disappointment with a dramatic sigh of defeat. Rolling over onto his back as he continued to text away on his phone. “How about you go take that shower you were just talking about? You’re starting to stink up the room.”

The snide comment was enough to get Vaggie to huff, picking up the basket of shower supplies, a towel, and a change of clothes from the side of her bed. “I don’t smell, and I was just waiting for Charlie to come back so I could be sure that she was okay! I’ll be back in twenty minutes. Charlie, you’ll be okay if I leave you here with this perv, right?” 

“Oh please! I’m only a perv for dick! Blondie here’s got nothing to worry about.”

“I’ll be fine Vaggie! Angel and I are friends, we’ll probably just chat while you’re gone. Go enjoy your shower.” Charlie said, patting her friend’s shoulder to urge her on. “After you get back, we should all order food and watch a movie! I need to wind down after just a busy week, so let’s relax tonight.”

Vaggie smiled at the idea, nodding in agreement. “Sounds like a plan, I’ll be back soon.” She said, draping the clothes over her shoulder before leaving the dorm room to her roommate and Angel.

Charlie set her bag down at the foot of her bed once they were alone, walking around and quickly collapsing against her blanket with her back to Angel, hoping to avoid the conversation that she knew was coming. But, she could feel the young man's stare begin to bore a hole into the back of her head. She tried to ignore it, curling into a ball around one of her pillows, but flinched when she heard him stand up from her roommate’s bed. Angel waltzed over to Charlie’s bed to stand over her, and she could feel that he was smirking at her. 

He stood there for a little while, watching her with smug satisfaction. “Weeeeeell?” Angel asked, leaning closer so he could prod at her shoulder with one of his fingers. “How did it go?”

“How did what go?” Charlie asked, trying her best to feign ignorance as she hid her face deeper into her pillow, trying to hide the blush on her face.

“Oh, come on Charlie! You gotta throw me a bone here! You text me last night asking me how you could tell if that professor wanted to smash, and now you come in today with that dopey smile on your face before Vaggie came and promptly squashed it on ya.” Angel groaned with a dramatic collapse at the foot of her bed and over half of her body, pointedly laying his weight against her legs in hopes of squeezing a response from her, or at the very least pinning her down until she broke. “Tell me, did you and that handsome Professor get into some extracurriculars during your session?” He asked, beginning to poke at her hip.

“Angel, do we really need to talk about it? I don’t want Vaggie to walk in and hear this. She’d be so mad.” She reasoned, voice still muffled by the pillow she hugged against her face. But, her friends prodding got more and more insistent. He jabbed his manicured nail into the bony part of her hip, and only when it became painful did she relent. “No Angel, we didn’t… do anything like that,” Charlie admitted, finally sitting up to look over at Angel with a flushed face. 

“Buuuut?” Angel pressed, turning over onto his stomach to lean his chin into his hands, eyes brimming with excitement to hear what she had to say.

“B-but… he did show all those signs you had mentioned. It started out innocent enough, the signs that could just be written off as a coincidence. But… then his wife called and it was like a switch went off. Then it all happened at once after… after he took off his wedding ring.” She paused to let Angel let out a tiny gasp of amazement. “Then, we spent a pretty large chunk of the session just talking about anything other than my homework. When it was over, I hadn’t finished the worksheet so he offered to help me finish the rest of my homework tomorrow night. And… and he called me Charlie and kissed my hand-” Pausing when she was unable to stop herself from smiling at the memory, looking down at her hand, grazing her fingers along the knuckles that he had kissed. “It was actually really nice.”

“Oh, girl! He totally wants you! He basically just asked you if you were ‘DTF’ tomorrow night! That’s so amazing! Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be in your shoes.” Angel swooned looking wistfully off to the side, as if he was daydreaming. “I can totally help you come up with a way to sneak out so Senorita doesn’t start getting suspicious or nothing. Hopefully she decides to go off on a date or something so she’s not around. Have you decided what you were going to wear? I have tips for that too.”

Charlie cringed at the utterance of her roommate, the pleasant memory in her mind getting ripped away with the icy hands of guilt and shame. Bowing her head while she pulled her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs with a shrug. “I don’t know if I even want to go, Angel,” Charlie sighed, resting her cheek atop her knee.

“WHAT?!” Angel demanded, yanked away from his musing as he snapped his gaze back to Charlie. “You can’t just ignore such a golden opportunity like this! This is the hottest professor on the entire campus!” Pulling his phone back out, he tapped on a window on the internet. Her school’s website opened on the page of all the campus professors. “I checked!”

Yeah, Alastor had to be the most attractive professor here. Probably the most handsome in all of the campus… the town? Feeling a wave of heat bloom across her face, she hid her face against her knees, whimpering in defeat.

Angel didn’t seem to notice her apprehension, carrying on like Charlie had just told him something completely ridiculous. “You asked for all those signs last night, you came in so happy just now about the idea that he might want you!” Angel snorted, sitting up in her bed so they were facing each other. “And, then I tell you that he just offered himself to you in the clearest way he could without just outright asking you if you were up to bone! Now all of a sudden you’re acting like some prude! What changed from then to now that makes you suddenly so unsure?”

“You saw how Vaggie was yesterday! She got so angry when you brought it up as a joke, and today she seemed to think that he was going to try something. If… if she were to find out that I did this, she’d be so mad!” Charlie fretted, already being able to hear the yelling and the arguing that would most certainly take place if she found as Charlie was even considering this. “And, he’s married! How can I possibly feel okay about sleeping with a married man? His poor wife would have no idea what’s going on and it’d be my fault!”

Being fueled by her anxiety, her brain continued to come up with all different sorts of ‘worse case scenarios.’ Anything that could possibly go wrong was on the table. “And, my dad! He’s the president of the campus. Angel, if he found out…” Dread filled the pit of her stomach at the thought of that possible conversation, making her want to curl up in a ball and hide. “Alastor would be fired, maybe even arrested with my dad’s influence. He could probably find something illegal about it. And, he’d kick me out and god knows what else. What if-” 

She was cut off by Angel shushing her and covering her mouth with his hand, shutting her up when she tried to continue on with her ranting. “Is that seriously what you’re worried about? Shit, here I was wondering if you were just worrying about getting knocked up or something!” Moving his hands from her mouth, he rested them on her shoulders, trying to ground her back into reality. “Charlie, I have slept with almost half of my professors since starting college. Not once have I ever been even close to getting caught." He paused for a moment, looking Charlie up and down. "Or knocked up, I guess. You broads got it bad." 

“Angel, this is serious!” Charlie whined, staring up at him with an exasperated look.

“I am being serious! This professor seems like he’d go about this carefully, so I don’t even know why you’re worrying,” He pulled his hand away from her shoulders before he continued. “Look, honey, there’s no point getting all worked up about what  _ might _ happen when there’s no way to be sure anything will actually go wrong, so cut that crap about what Vaggie might think, or what your father might do. Charlie, you’re an adult, what do  _ you _ want to do?”

The question caught Charlie off guard, more so than the sudden wisdom that was coming from the lips of her friend. It was mean to think, but she never thought that he would be good for real advice like this, even though said advice was trying to push her to sleep with a professor. It came out so blunt, so matter of fact that somehow all of her outlandish fears suddenly seemed so ridiculous. “What… what  _ I _ want to do?” It sounded so foreign in her ears, how often was she so focused on pleasing others, making sure others were happy and content, and how she rarely did things for herself.

“Yes! What you want! Tell me, when that Professor told you to come back over tomorrow night, when he called you Charlie and kissed your hand. How did that make you feel? Were you nervous? Ashamed or disgusted?” Leaning in closer, his voice hushed down into a whisper. “Or did that little offer set your whole body on fire and made you want to jump him right then and there?” Angel asked with a smirk on his face as he already seemed to know the answer.

The question deepened the flush that was already so deep across her cheeks. “The… the later one. I felt like I was going to melt.” She admitted, letting go of her knees as she looked back up at Angel. “I… I really do want to go there tomorrow night… to be with him. That whole session, I couldn’t help but think about it.” Recalling the session brought a new wave of heat that warmed her chest. “Just… what if-”

“Nope! No what-ifs. You said that you wanted it and I’m not letting you back out of this now. And, you can’t go in there scared either or it’s gonna freak him out. You want him? Go get him tomorrow! Don’t be scared about any dumb ‘maybe’s’ and let yourself just be happy for and evening! God Charlie, you’re the only person I know that would get so nervous over a good dickin’,” Angel sighed, getting up from the bed and going over to her closet. “Come on, get up. I’m helping you pick out an outfit for tomorrow. And, I better get details afterward! I’m going away this weekend and I won’t be back until next Thursday, but you better be ready to tell me everything! Consider it payment for all this amazing advice.”

When he continued to motion for her, she relented and got up from the bed. “Why do you need to pick the outfit? I can’t go there looking like a stripper or everyone’s going to know!” She reminded him, walking up behind him so she could watch him pick through her clothes.

“I know that blondie, I’m not an idiot. Remember who’s the person that has experience with this sort of thing.” Angel stated as he pulled a simple, short-sleeved white button-up from the closet, holding it out in front of her for a moment before tossing it on the bed. “After I’m done picking these out, hide them somewhere so Vaggie doesn’t ask any questions. We don’t need the little purist- even though I love her to death- fucking this up for you.” Taking a short pink skirt from the hanger, he held it out in front of her hips. “Do you think you could roll this up at all or hem it? It’s a little long.”

“Long for what?” Charlie asked, taking the skirt from his hands to look it over. It was mid-thigh length on her as is, that was as short as she was usually willing to go. But, it was possible to roll the top up just a bit without it looking too bunchy around her waist.    
  


“For a quickie, Charlie!  _ Dio mio _ You don’t just dress in jeans when you’re looking to be in and out under twenty minutes. Too many layers are annoying to get off and on when you’re in a rush. There has to be some level of preparation and it’s usually the job of whoever is the one getting pushed up against the desk.” He went over to her dresser and started going through her underwear, pulling out the nicest pair that she owned, a laced black thong. “Usually I’d recommend going without underwear at all, but I don’t think you’re ready for that. Plus it’s supposed to be windy tomorrow,” taking the skirt from her, he stacked everything up in a little pile on her bed. 

“I had no idea there were so many rules to this,” Charlie murmured, looking through the outfit Angel had picked for her. Nothing too gaudy, she could see herself wearing this casually on a nice day. “What shoes should I wear… maybe heels?”

“Anything that is easy to slip off and works with the outfit. They aren’t as important but you don’t want to go wearing huge sneakers or something. The whole idea is to pick an outfit that doesn’t ring too many alarms- something you’d consider wearing any day- but can quickly be taken off or pushed aside if need be.” Angel said as he sat beside the clothes on the bed, smoothing out the shirt he had picked. “Like if you just pop a few buttons on the shirt, there’s instant sex appeal, or if you pull the skirt a little higher. Things that can change depending on how you wear them.” 

“That’s… really smart. I never even thought of that.” Charlie said, realizing that she really had no idea what she was doing when it came to things like this. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been intimate with people in the past, or dated her fair share of people. But, it never included things like this. She was lucky that Angel was here, and knew she probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as she had without him. 

“Hey Angel, how am I supposed to go about tomorrow? I’ve never really had to do anything like this. How do I make myself available so he knows he can approach me?” It sounded like such a dumb question in her head, all she was basically asking was how to look seductive. It was something she thought she could do before but she’s been so blindsided by all this new information, she wouldn’t be surprised if she had the wrong idea about that too.

Angel seemed to have all the answers so far. If he really was as smooth as he seemed, if he really knew what he was talking about. Then he would definitely know how to help her with this.

“Oh honey,” Angel squealed, gripping Charlie’s arms and twisting her around to look at him. “I was hoping you’d ask!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angel has no time for all these "what-ifs" and stupid fears. If she won't have the confidence, he'll have it for her!
> 
> I'm so happy to have chapter 3 for everyone today, I hope everyone enjoys!


	4. Extracurricular Activities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .: EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT UP AHEAD:.
> 
> You have been warned! Enjoy this hefty chapter of shameless smut!!

It was almost six o’clock, dusk beginning to darken the campus as Charlie began to make her way from her dorm room. She moved quickly down the main hallway, a few flights of stairs, out of the building, and into the evening air. Wind buffeted her hair, risking messing up her carefully combed locks, and she had to hold her skirt to keep it from billowing up as she walked out of the main doorway of the dormitory building and out onto a pathway that led over to the psychology building. 

Charlie was surprised she even managed to leave the dorm without Vaggie saying anything. Having got extremely lucky that Vaggie was busy on the phone with Loona when she was getting dressed, sitting at her desk with her back to her roommate. Engrossed enough in the conversation to not notice how Charlie quietly slipped off her bed and changed out of her leggings and sweatshirt into the outfit that Angel had picked out the day prior. Or how she curled the few strands of unruly hair so that they fit back into place, or even the light makeup she had applied. It was like the stars had aligned because the entire time Vaggie was too busy making plans for Sunday to catch on, and boy was Charlie thankful for that. 

“Uh, hey Vags? I’m just gonna… go get something to eat before the cafeteria closes. I’ll be back later, okay?” While Charlie wanted to just leave and not risk Vaggie catching on, she knew that if she tried to just walk out without saying anything, she would almost definitely end up getting a phone call or two asking about her whereabouts after Vaggie got off the phone with Loona. Any interruptions would be… unfavorable, in this situation.

Vaggie only gave her a hum of acknowledgment, and that was enough of a response for Charlie to quickly make an exit. Starting to pull on a pair of high heels that she had left by the door, she paused when she felt something inside one of the heels, tucked away at the very bottom. What could that even be? Quietly tipping it over, she shook the shoe until the foreign object fell out.

A condom.

It was probably Angel who had put it there, honestly who else it could be? When did he even have the time to slip this into the heels? They had spent the entire evening yesterday picking out her outfit and talking, and after Vaggie had come back from her shower they ordered food and watched movies until curfew. He must’ve been more sneaky than she thought. Scrambling to pick it up, she hid it in the palm of her hand as she finished putting on her heels, leaving the room before Vaggie was able to question her. 

She still had it in her hand now as she made her way across campus. Her skirt didn’t have pockets to hide it in, and she only had her phone with her, no purse or wallet. Charlie didn’t even think about purchasing condoms before, she was on the pill and it had always been enough. Angel didn’t know that though, he was only looking out for her. It was honestly a good idea to bring one along, in case Alastor ever asked for it.

Without any other place to put it, Charlie quickly slipped the foil-wrapped condom into her bra, completely hiding it before she continued on her way. Charlie made it to the psychology wing just as it became six o’clock. The wing was seemingly empty, as she knew it would be. There were no classes over the weekend and it was easy to assume that she was the only one roaming the hallways at this hour.

And that meant that only she and Alastor were going to be in the entire building. 

The very idea sent her heart racing, the anticipation creeping up her spine as she slowly made her way over towards the classroom. Beginning to roll up the top of her skirt, quickly smoothing it out over her waist as she walked down the hall, hiking up its hem until the garment just barely covered her rear. Along with that, unbuttoning the top few buttons of her shirt for good measure as she closed in on the lecture room. 

The door was open, and the lights in the class were on. Everything was silent though, and she couldn’t see the desk from where it was situated in the room. Was he really in there? He must be if he had the lecture rooms door wide open. 

Charlie stood in front of the open doorway, her feet frozen in place when she tried to take a step forward. She was really about to do this, about to go against so many rules and ethics. She was about to lie to her best friend and go against her wishes, and to top it all off, was going to be partaking in a nice dose of infidelity. 

She knew how wrong this was, those pesky fears began to creep their way back into her thoughts. Charlie was more than aware of how badly things could go if she got caught. Her father’s influence wouldn’t be able to help her in this, she would definitely be expelled. Professor Germain would be fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a student, and his wife would most definitely leave him. 

But, standing here now, in reality. The fear in the back of her head elicited a different reaction in her. The danger was… exciting. It made her heart thump loudly in her chest and her blood rush to her ears. Charlie was already in too deep. She couldn’t turn back now, even if she wanted to. She needed to see this to end, and how far they could take it. 

With a deep breath, she walked through the threshold of the door, gently knocking on it as she made her way into the classroom. “Professor Germain? It’s me, Charlie.”

He was there, sitting at the desk on his phone when she peered in, leaning forward with his elbow on his desk. His head immediately popped up when she called out his name, and his smile widened when he saw her. “Ah, Charlie. Thank you for coming this evening, so glad to see you. Please come in!” Alastor chimed, removing his reading glasses as he set them off to the side of his desk. 

“I should be the one thanking you, Professor,” Charlie murmured, blushing when he called her by her nickname. It sounded so different when it came from him, almost like a pet name. “You didn’t have to help me today, but it was really nice of you to offer to assist me in finishing the worksheet on your day off.” Closing the door, she waited until the automatic lock clicked before she made her way deeper into the room.

Alastor got up from his spot at his desk to meet her halfway, “Nonsense, my dear. The pleasure is all mine.” As he watched her walk up to him, she noticed the way his eyes trailed up and down her body, pausing for just a moment at her chest before his eyes snapped back up to lock with hers. It only lasted a moment, but just long enough to let Charlie know he appreciated her wardrobe choice. “It’s my duty as your professor to help you improve your grade  _ any way _ I can," He says, reaching out for her hand the moment she was close enough.

Charlie rested her hand in his without hesitation, trying to muster up every grain of confidence that she could. “‘Any way you can?’ Well that… certainly opens some doors, doesn’t it?” She hummed, fighting to keep her voice even and calm. Smiling when he brought her hand to his lips, pressing a light kiss to her knuckles with a chuckle. 

“Yes, I suppose it does,” Alastor agreed. Gently running his thumb along the back of her palm, he lingered his grip for several moments, only letting her hand go when he turned back to his desk. In its place, he let it glide over the curve of her back. Pulling her a little closer as he guided her back towards the desk. “Any door in particular that you were looking to have open, Ms. Magne?”

Her whole body heated up when she felt his hand press against her back, gently urging her to get closer to him. Taking a half a step closer to him as they walked back over, her hand gently grazes his hip as they move. “I’m not quite sure what you mean,” Charlie murmured, feigning ignorance.

“Oh really?” He asked, beginning to toy with the hem of her skirt as they stopped at the desk. He pauses to let her stand directly in front of it, standing in front of her so she was between him and the desk. Letting his hand trail from her back to her side, Alastor watched how she tried to keep her gaze locked with his. How hard she was trying to keep up her confidence was adorable. “I don’t think you came here to finish your worksheet, frankly. So I can’t help but wonder if there’s… another reason why you came?”

The way his hand played with her clothes, Charlie felt like her knees were going to buckle. She had to lean back against the desk to keep herself from possibly collapsing to the ground, sitting on the edge as he continued to run his fingers along the top hem of her skirt. “Well, you certainly seem confident in that statement, Alastor. Care to tell me why you’re so sure that I simply didn’t come here to finish my work?”

“Because you didn’t bring your bookbag with you tonight.”

Oh, the way all the confidence drained from her in that moment was remarkable, he couldn’t help but chuckle as she quickly shrank into herself. Pulling his hand away from her, he instead rested his hands on the desk on either side of her. Leaning in close to her as she tried to stammer out a response, pinning her between the desk and his body. He watched her struggle for a moment, a rampant blush dusting over her face as she tried to find the words. 

Unable to help himself, he leaned in even closer. Close enough that their faces were mere inches apart from one another, chuckling when she let out a squeak of surprise. “Why did you come here tonight Charlie?” Alastor asked her yet again.

“I-I don’t know…” She whimpered, unable to look up at him as he pressed oh so close to her. Feeling his breath gently puff against her cheek, and the scent of his cologne washed over her senses. It sent her mind into a tizzy, fizzling over with static until she couldn’t remember anything that Angel had told her. All the advice was bogged down by just a desire to be closer to him. 

“Oh, my dear. If you don’t tell me  _ exactly _ what you need from me…” Another step closer, forcing her to sit further back against the desk until she was no longer standing. Pressing his knee against hers with just enough persuasion that she buckled, unfolding her legs and letting him lean in between them. On instinct, she wrapped them around his waist, pulling him closer and hooking one foot over the other he couldn’t step away. That was fine with Alastor, taking the opportunity to run his hand along her thigh, humming his amusement when she shuddered against his touch. “Otherwise I can’t help you. Believe me. I really,  _ really _ do want to help.”

He was teasing her, she knew that. She heard the way he chuckled when she forced herself to meet his gaze. The way his fingers trailed along her leg, setting tiny fires along her skin that set her body aflame with desire. It wasn’t enough, though. Charlie wanted to feel this same fire deep inside her, “A-Alastor  _ please _ .”

“Please what? I need to hear you say it.” He was getting a kick out of this, seeing her squirm in a mixture of embarrassment and lust was just too attractive. The way she bit her lip when he spoke. “Tell me.”

Charlie still couldn’t find the words, her brain so jumbled that all she could think of was his name. She knew she wouldn’t be able to articulate her wants into words, but she could certainly do so through her actions. Reaching her arms up, she wrapped them around his neck. And, mustering every ounce of courage that she could, pulled him down and pressed her lips to his in a hungry kiss, gripping fistfuls of his hair to keep him as close as possible.

It was certainly a response, even if it wasn’t the one he was expecting. A verbal response would've made things easier to be sure, and the logical side of him thought he should continue to push for her to speak. But, she seemed so desperate to push forward, to leave the little formalities behind. Her back arched and she pressed her chest flush to his in a fevered attempt to get closer to him, and her legs squeezed around his waist, not letting him pull away.

Alastor had no intention of doing so. “Alright, alright my dear.” He murmured against her lips, reaching up to gently pull her hands away from his hair, holding her back so he could look at her. “You’ve certainly made your point. I cannot fathom denying such tenacity.” Letting go of her wrists he let her rest them back on his shoulders, her hands holding onto the fabric of his shirt. 

“S-so… we can just-...” Charlie breathed, playing with the collar of his shirt. Letting her fingers trail along the stiff fabric to his bowtie, tugging at the knot until it came untied and pulling it away from his neck. It dropped against the desk as she began to undo the fasteners on his shirt. 

“Oh, well I don’t think you are really waiting for an answer now are you?” Alastor chuckled, watching how she continued to fiddle with the buttons of his shirt. Charlie didn’t respond to him, because in the end he was right. Whether she was done with talking or just truly didn’t hear him, she finally began to undo the top few buttons, tugging the shirt to open it further.

Alastor followed her lead. Pressing a kiss on the gentle slope of her neck, pulling her own blouse down at its collar so he could nip down her shoulder and along her clavicle, leaving marks lower and lower along her skin, popping button after button until it lay open until her chest and stomach were exposed to the heated air between them.

Pulling his lips away from her smoldering skin, he took a moment to appreciate the view that was laid out underneath him. His gaze ran over the smooth skin of her stomach, the freckled patches around the tops of her shoulders, and the perked curves of her breasts. Alastor had always known she was beautiful, from the moment she stepped into his classroom that very first day. He just never thought he’d get an opportunity to see this much. Alastor certainly wasn’t complaining however, running his hands along her sides and cupping her breasts in his palms.

While he was busy with his musing, Charlie took the time to explore his body for herself. Pulling his shirt until it was no longer tucked neatly into his slacks, her fingers trace along the undershirt that he was wearing, silently cursing its presence as a hindrance in her view. Reaching back up to his shoulders, she ran her hands along under his shirt, feeling the smooth muscles as she glides her fingers to his arms, until her right hand grazed against raised skin. Different from the flesh around it, it was rough and uneven. It caught her by surprise, she started to pull his shirt off to the side to get a better view. Was that a scar? It felt like it took up a large portion of his skin, almost all of his trapezius and his shoulder. What happened-

“My my, and here you were trying to play coy.” Alastor’s words jolted Charlie from her thoughts, it was either that or the feeling of his fingers sliding into one of the padded cups of her bra. The action made her body shiver as he slowly pulled the condom from its hiding place. Alastor held it in between them, catching Charlie’s attention when he turned it over in his fingers and the foil caught the glare from the overhead lights. 

Charlie could only look at the contraceptive blankly, did she really forget that she had brought it with her? She should’ve known he would’ve found it if they ended up doing this. How many trash cans did she pass on her way here? Throwing it out would’ve been so quick and easy!

“O-oh that? Um… I just that uh.” Man, this was hopeless, her brain was filled with static, and every attempt she made to get a decent sentence out caught on her tongue whenever her gaze caught his. He looked so smug, it was too attractive.

“I’ll wear it if you want me to. But, you’re going to have to be the one who puts it on me.” Alastor said smoothly, sitting up straight so he towered in front of her again. 

It was such a simple request, and it left Charlie beet red. “W-what?”

“If you want me to wear this, that’s fine,” Alastor continued. Placing the condom in one of her hands so he could rest his hands against her thighs, which were still wrapped desperately around his hips. “All I ask is that you’re the one who puts it on me.” His voice was casual, like he had just asked her to answer a simple question during class, but his eyes were a deep smolder. Teasing her, testing her resolve.

Charlie didn’t try to respond, any attempt of words were going to be lost in a jumble of sputters. All she could do was stare between them, her eyes darting back from the protection she clutched in her hand and the front of his slacks. Each time she looked back at him to see the way his erection already strained against the confines of his dress pants, the blush deepened on her face. 

“Oh come on now, you aren’t losing that confidence, are you? I thought you came here with some actual moxie tonight.” Alastor hummed, grazing his nails against the skin of her inner thigh, chuckling when she shuddered at the sensation. “If it’s really too much to ask of you, I suppose that I could just do it on my own. I simply thought you might enjoy the opportunity,” He added, reaching out to pick the condom back up from her hand.

“W-wait!” Charlie gasped, pulling her hand away when he tried to take the contraceptive away. “I can do it! I just-...” She trailed off, keeping her eyes glued in front of her. This is what she wanted, she came here tonight with this sole intention in her mind, she couldn’t just shy away now. Taking a deep breath, she held it in as she carefully placed the wrapped condom between her teeth. Holding it there to keep her hands free and reaching out to grip his belt, unsteady fingers beginning to fumble with its latch, pulling the leather rope out of the loops on his slacks and undoing. Leaving the open sides to hang as Charlie tugged at the button and zipper on his pants. Pulling the fly open and tugging down the zipper until he popped free from the fabric.

Taking the condom from between her teeth, ripping the foil packaging open before she took it in her hand. When she reached out a shaky hand to hold him steady, she paused. 

Charlie had never planned on having this with her, it had never even crossed her mind to bring one. If it wasn’t for Angel, she wouldn’t be tripping up on her nerves trying to get this stupid piece of latex on. They’d probably already be well on their way if it wasn’t in their way. Besides, every guy she was with always seemed to complain when they had to put one on. 

So, she pulled the wrapper out of her mouth and dropped them. Letting both- much to Alastor’s surprise- fall into the waste bin that sat beside the desk. “Actually… We don’t need it. Um, I’m kinda already on the pill so,” Charlie glanced up to read Alastor’s features. Seeing his brows arched and eyes rather wide, it surely wasn’t the action he was expecting her to take. 

“B-besides,” She continued, reaching up to grip one of the straps of his undershirt and tug him back down. Pulling him closer so he once again hovered over her, she slowly reached between them. Keeping eye contact with him as she gently wrapped her fingers around his base, leaving feather-light touches as her fingertips trailed along his shaft. “Don’t guys jump at the chance to go in without one? I think you’ll like it more this way.”

This was the moxie that Alastor was looking for, the little bit of that inner fire that he knew she had. The way her voice beckoned something akin to a challenge in its delivery. How her half-lidded doe eyes egged him on in a silent plea.

Or maybe it was just the fact that she literally had him in the palm of her hand. Running her thumb along his skin, hugging her legs tighter and tighter around his waist so he’d lean even farther into her. 

Either way, how could he deny such an opportunity. And, deny her? Only a daft man would try to argue.

“I suppose we do,” Alastor hummed, running his hands up her thighs, nails grazing her soft skin as he reached under her skirt and cupped her rear, squeezing the soft flesh under his palms and closing the small gap that had been between them. Feeling his length press against her still clothed entrance, he silently cursed the thin fabric of her underwear that remained between them. “If you don’t have any issues with this arrangement, then I certainly won’t complain.”

Charlie’s grip on his undershirt tightened at the sensation, the simple grazing sent her brain into a muddled frenzy. Fighting her hardest to keep her gaze locked to his as his stare seared into hers, he waited for her to remove the last obstacle between them. “I-it’s a deal, then,” She breathed. Pressing her forehead against Alastor’s, Chair blindly pulls at her panties, moving them aside until she felt him settle against her, pulses throbbing against one another. Her hand moves from in between them so she could wrap her arms back around his neck.

“Now, please don’t make me wait any longer,” Charlie pleaded, voice filled with delicious desperation.

Alastor didn’t, he himself being just as impatient for a similar satisfaction. Holding her steady in his arms- while one hand moved to press against the desk for added stability- he nestled himself into her. Warmth enveloped his whole body, and he marveled at how her body already began to tremble at his mere entrance. Each shiver against him sent little sparks of pleasure up his spine like static, fizzling at the base of his skull and fogging his thoughts. 

Slowly, he began to move. Even paced bucks to ease the two of them into a rhythm.

Instantly, however, Charlie buckled. Pulling her forehead away from his to instead bury it into the crook of his neck, trying to muffle the euphoric gasp that spilled past her lips. She bit into his shirt to keep her mewls subdued, just loud enough for Alastor to hear. As her nails dug into his back, even through the cloth of his shirt, she left crescent marks and dull scratches on his skin. 

“A- _ Alastor _ … Don’t stop!” 

It was hard not to feel prideful at how he already had her in a puddle against him after having done so little. Whispering breathless pleas for more warmed his skin. It was hard, impossible even, to ignore her requests. It was like music to his ears to hear her beg. 

All Alastor could do was  acquiesce, beginning to press open mouth kisses along her collarbone and neck. He proudly left bruise after little bruise, peppered marks left by his teeth against her skin.

Each bite sent a cocktail of pain and pleasure so perfectly mixed through her blood. This was different from all of Charlie’s prior experiences, and she can’t remember ever being worked so well before. Was it because she had only ever been with people her age? Now being with someone over ten years her senior, maybe a lot of experience was to be had in that time. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, any coherent thought got lost in a frenzy of blind pleasure and hedonistically primal demands.

“Please…  _ harder _ ,” Charlie pleaded, feeling her legs begin to tremble as she held onto his waist, desperate for an anchor lest she float away on cloud nine. 

Alastor was eager to please, if not for anything else but to get the both of them to delectable release. Mounting tension building in the very pit of his stomach as he couldn’t help but feverishly pick up his pace, holding her tighter with every eager buck. Every time he managed to graze a spot deep in her core, he felt her whole body lurch. Muscles tensing around his shaft in shivering spasm.

“O-oh my god,  _ please _ .”

Stamina be damned, it had been far too long since his last release, months at least. The way her voice pitched with every movement, how her pleas grew more and more desperate with her labored breaths. It drove him wild, these words for him and him alone. He was the one making her feel this way, not anyone else, his actions garnered this reaction. How could Alastor not struggle to keep himself together? Having to hear just melodious cries from the beautiful young woman underneath him, it seemed that his paramour was right there along with him, quickly unraveling right along with him. 

“Charlie… my dear. I don’t think...” He couldn’t finish his sentence, fearing his voice to crack under the weight. Instead he chose to sink his teeth into her shoulder, grounding himself against her. 

The blonde wasn’t much better off, only able to reach up and run her fingers through his amber tresses. Clutching onto the locks to keep him close, she tilts her chin up to whisper in his ear. “Professor, _i-in me ple-ease,_ ” Charlie gasped, voice wavering as she teetered off the cliff to her own climax.

Well, how on earth was he supposed to deny that? Alastor wouldn’t have been able to hold out after that if he tried. At her utterance, his whole body seemed to lurch forward, his quickly destabilizing pace quickly devolving into several stumbling bucks. All the energy drained from his body to pool into her in shaky spurts as he leaned against Charlie and the desk to keep himself upright. 

The warmth filling her body is what sent Charlie careening over the edge, taking a plunge into white pleasure as every nerve on her body seemed to ignite at the sensation. “ _ Professor Germain! _ ” She cried, having to muffle her voice against his shirt to keep her voice from ringing out and possibly being overheard by a passing professor or student. Curling up against him to ride out the rest of her release, her nose breathes in the scent of his cologne.

The pair stayed still for several moments, coming down from their respective highs, back down to reality and into the comfort of one another’s arms. Several more minutes and they try to steady their breathing and calm trembling nerves. After it all, Charlie was the one who had the courage to speak up first. “That was… wow,” she breathed, pulling her face away from his neck so she could take a deep breath. “That was something else.”

“I’ll have to agree with you,” Alastor affirmed, chuckling as he pulled his arm from around her, letting his partner lean back against the desk for some fresh air. “Certainly worth the wait, I would say.” Stepping away from the desk, he gave her a moment to collect herself so he could take the same opportunity to button up his slacks and tuck his shirt back neatly into place. Once that was done he began to smooth out the tousled locks that stuck out of place, tucked too his forehead from perspiration. 

Alastor watched her as she began to do the same. Picking herself up from her position against the desk to compose herself. Buttoning up her blouse and pulling her skirt down to its original position. Her hands were still trembling with exhaustion as she began to run her fingers through her long blonde hair, pulling them all back into a low ponytail so it was out of the way. She missed a few strands as she tied the rest of her hair away, and looked so demure in that moment, her large doe eyes half-lidded and a warm half-smile prevalent along her features.

She really was beautiful, and he was a lucky man to have gotten such an opportunity. “Here, let me help you up.” Alastor murmured, reaching his hand out to her when she finished putting up her hair. 

“Oh! Thank you, Alastor,” Charlie piped. She was seemingly surprised at his continuous generosity as she rested her hand in his, standing up as he continued to support her weight. The student was grateful for the support when she felt her knees buckle as she tried to take a step forward, her heels giving out too quickly and causing her to stumble into him with a surprised squeak. 

But, he was there to catch her, taking a step forward and holding out his other arm to quickly catch her around the waist, pulling her up against his chest to help her gain her footing. “Woah there, darling! Don’t go falling for me that quickly,” Alastor teased and held her close until she stood back up on her own. 

Charlie laughed at the comment, pulling away when she could. “Don’t go and get your hopes up on that,” she teased, fixing her shirt one last time before looking back at the desk she had just been sitting on. “So… why did you really come here today?”

Alastor followed her gaze, looking the desk over to see just exactly she was looking for. Quickly realizing it was what wasn’t there that had her interested. No paperwork was out, not a shred of stationary, hell, he hadn’t even brought his briefcase with him tonight. Chuckling when she looked back at him, he simply shrugged. “Oh, well I suppose I was just seeing if you’d come by tonight,” He admitted.

“That was a pretty bold move of you, then. But, I guess you were pretty confident you were going to get what you came here for.” She teased, walking towards the classroom door. Alastor followed her after he picked up his glasses. 

“It’s always good to be confident, it’s what gets you far in this world,” He told her. Reaching the door first so he could open it for her, he leans against it as she walked out into the hallway.

“Thank you,” Charlie murmured, looking up and down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear before continuing their conversation. “And… thank you for before. That was… really great.” She sighed, looking down at her feet as he closed the door behind him. “I guess we don’t need to keep the tutoring sessions going though, right?”

“No, I suppose we don’t  _ have _ to. You’ll be getting the best grade you possibly can now, I’ll see to that.” Alastor knew he should’ve cut things off here, no more “tutoring” and no more private sessions. Things had already passed a line he thought he’d never cross, and continuing things wouldn’t only heighten the risk. After all, Alastor didn’t like taking risks where the benefit didn’t seem to be worth the trouble.

But, when he noticed how she looked so crestfallen at the idea, he couldn’t even fathom the idea of cutting ties. “But… I will still be here on campus during those times, and I won’t have anything to do during those times.” Reaching out, he rested his fingertips just under Charlie’s chin, tilting her head up so she was making eye contact with him. “If you want to keep coming by, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

The simple gesture made her shiver, warmth creeping up her spine as she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. Tonight was a lot of fun, and even yesterday when it was just the two of them talking was really nice. What did Charlie have to lose?

“I’ll see you Thursday after class…”


	5. Reality

When Alastor pulled into his garage that evening, he felt better than he had in months. All stress and pent up frustration had melted away completely. He wore a genuine smile that reached his eyes and with a hop in his step as he exited his car, removed the briefcase that he had left in the passenger seat. Pressing the button that was clipped to the sun visor to make sure the garage door closed, he hummed a small tune to himself as he locked the car door.

While it was easy to say his chipper attitude was due to just getting his first decent release after months of intentional abstinence, or the ego-stroking he received at the hands of a younger woman, Alastor remained unconvinced. 

Charlie wasn’t the first student to proposition him, far from it oddly enough. He had worked at Harvard for only four years, having been lucky enough to receive a position with the university shortly after graduating with his masters, and in that short time, there were several female- and even a few male- students that had asked him for private tutoring to help with their grade. It only took one session for him to realize it wasn’t the love of learning on these students' minds. So, from that point on he would take any and all inquiries about tutoring or extra help and point them into the direction of a student that had been doing particularly well that semester, saying that he was certain they’d help. He would also list off a few websites he was aware of that help with the textbook readings. It was always enough to turn them away, and that worked for all those semesters. Alastor maintained a completely professional relationship with his students.

It was the reason why his grading policy was so firm, no retakes, no extra credit. It helped dissuade people who thought that they could pull a few of his strings in order to up a test grade or forget about a few missing homework assignments.

But, when it came to Charlie’s offer, something in his resolve had changed. Sure, she was beautiful, no doubt, with long blonde hair and soft features that all worked so perfectly together. A cute voice that always had an air of pep to it, and her large doe eyes that seemed so innocent. Certainly one of the fairer students that he had taught, maybe even the prettiest if he thought back to all his previous students. But, he didn’t think that that was the reason he agreed, beauty had never persuaded him before. 

Alastor was intrigued by her, more than anything. The way she spoke, how she walked, where she came from, it was all so interesting. Her father was the president of the campus, he had so much pull and could easily get his daughter whatever she wanted, and Alastor had no doubt that Charlie always got what she asked for. He was certain that would make any child spoiled and entitled. But not Charlie, she seemed so kind and down to earth despite her cushy upbringing. When she had asked him to help her, it wasn’t to fix the grade she already received or to flex her father’s influence to try and persuade him to change her grade. She wanted help with homework, so she could do better on her own. 

Of course, even though he had pure intentions, in the beginning at least, he couldn’t help but push to see how far she was willing to take things. Pushing a few buttons to see how she reacted, charm her a little to gauge if she’d swoon or not. It appeared that it wasn’t her original intention to take the tutoring where it ended up going, she really wanted to learn. But, when Alastor realized that she was indeed interested in something more than just academic study, he knew he should’ve left it off there. To hold back and keep things as professional as he could. 

But, Alastor couldn’t bring himself to turn her down. The way she seemed so shy, yet so yearnful yesterday. It was enticing, and in the end he didn’t think twice about calling her back earlier today. When she still seemed eager to see him even after her grade was secured, it sent a strange warmth radiating from his chest that he couldn’t place. The very notion caused his smile to widen even more!

Walking across the garage to the door that led into his home, he couldn’t help but be excited for next week. If not for the prospect of more intimacy, or just conversation. Maybe she’d be happy going over some of her other worksheets with him, or they could just talk about nothing and everything.

However, all good things must come to an end. The moment he set foot through the door he was yanked back into reality by the jarring cry of incessant yapping, loud and irritating as he tried to make way into his own home in peace.

Ah yes, if there was anything that would try to ruin his chipper mood, it was Katie. A killjoy of a chihuahua that seemed hell-bent on just pissing Alastor off every chance it could. 

Trying his best to ignore the egregious excuse for a canine, Alastor closed the door behind him. Hanging his coat up on the rack that hung on the door, he placed his keys on a small end table that sat beside it. He had to repeatedly push the little white dog back with his foot to keep it from trying to bite at his pant leg or shoes, and to keep him from just flat out stepping on it as he walked. 

The little mutt continued with its barking as Alastor moved through the den towards the kitchen, certain he was going to have to cook something for dinner. Trying to ignore the noise, he thought about what was in the fridge and pantry, quietly hoping that Charlie was a cat person. Her bubbly personality did give her an air of perhaps being a dog person, but he could only speculate, only pray that she preferred a docile feline over some hyperactive mongrel.

Alastor was snapped from his musing when the mutt managed to latch onto his ankle, causing him to jump in surprise when he felt its sharp little teeth pierce through his sock and into his skin. “ _ Merde _ ! Sale petite créature,” Alastor hissed when Katie shook her head to try and tear deeper into his flesh. 

“Mimzy! Wrangle your filthy little beast before I leave it outside tonight for the coyotes!” Alastor called, kicking the dog away with a grunt. Ignoring its pitiful yelp he looked down at his ankle to see the damage the little mongrel had caused. A decent hole in his sock with a few bloodied marks around his Achilles tendon. 

Oh, how he hated dogs. 

“You wouldn’t dare!” A voice piped from the dining room, Mimzy appearing in the kitchen shortly after, quickly scooping up the dog when it ran over to her, cuddling it in her arms. “How could you even joke about leaving poor Katie out like that?” She asked, kissing the dogs head as it lapped pitifully at her chin. “She wouldn’t last even a single night out there on her own.”

“I wasn’t joking,” Alastor huffed under his breath, forcing himself to maintain his smile while taking a napkin from the kitchen table to dab some of the blood off his skin. He would have to properly disinfect it later, and throw out these once previously nice socks. “If you insist on letting it stay inside and coddle it, how about teaching it some basic obedience? Like how to not bite your husband every chance it gets,” He added as he pulled open the fridge to find something to use to cook dinner.

“Maybe if you were nicer to her, she wouldn’t bite you,” Mimzy hummed in an aloof manner, hugging the dog for a moment before letting it out into the backyard to do its business. Closing the sliding glass door that let out into the backyard, switching on the outdoor lights so the dog wasn’t out there in the dark. She turned to lean against the back door as she watched Alastor begin to pull ingredients from different drawers of the refrigerator. “So, how was your day? You don’t usually go to work on Saturdays, was it something important?”

Alastor didn’t look up from the fridge, balancing a package of shrimp in the bend of his elbow as he continued to search for some specific ingredients. “Yes, something important. I had to get a few things graded and sent to my superiors before the evening, then I had a meeting.” He answered smoothly, closing the door and setting the ingredients he had gathered across the counter. Leaning down beside the stove and taking out a large pot from one of the cabinets, he set it down on the stovetop without another word. 

Lying always came so easily to him, it seemed.

“Well, I’m glad you got it all done, you’ve had a lot of grading to do this week.” She hummed, sitting down at the kitchen table to watch him as he began to cook. She watched as Alastor pulled a cutting board from one of the drawers and a large chef’s knife from the block that sat in the corner of the counter, setting them down in front of him. He took the vegetables he had picked out to run them through under the faucet to wash off any dirt that might be stuck to them. Mimzy always thought she was lucky to have married a man who loved to cook. It meant she never had too. “So, you’re free for the evening now?” 

Beginning to cut through the peppers, Alastor chose not to respond right away. It was always better to stay focused when you’re working with a knife, and it gave him an opportunity to think carefully about what he wanted to say next. Only after he finished dicing all the vegetables did he turn to face Mimzy. “Dinner will take about an hour to finish, then I have some work I need to do in my office. That’ll take a couple of hours.” He said, leaning over to begin picking through the spice rack, tilting bottles around to read their labels and taking certain ones to line up on the counter. 

“Oh? I thought…” She paused for a moment, trying to not let her surprise show through her words. “Um… Alibear, don’t you remember what I asked before you left this morning? I was hoping that the two of us could talk about something. You… you said that you would be free.” Mimzy reminded him, playing with the napkin holder in disappointment.

Trying to play up her despondence as she slumped forward in her seat, dropping her chin in her hand and her elbow on the table, playing up her sadness with a tired sigh. 

“Yes, well I had a long day at work and I’m not particularly in the mood to sit down and have a serious discussion after having to make dinner on top of it.” He reminded her, turning the heat on the stove and pouring a large carton of chicken stock into the pot, grimacing at the utterance of that cursed nickname. 

“I guess that makes sense,” Mimzy murmured. Getting up from the table so she could stand in the middle of the kitchen, she leaned back on her heels and watched him cook in silence just for a moment, noting how his shoulders tensed when she got closer. He always came home from work in a sour mood, and he never told her what bothered him so much at his job. It didn’t make sense that he suddenly wanted to go to work so often if it seemed to upset him so much. “Well, maybe you’ll feel better if we talk about what I want to discuss! We don’t have to wait until after dinner to talk!” 

“You know I don’t like talking while I cook, Mimzy. I’d much rather focus on the task at hand. To be left alone and such,” Alastor mumbled, shooting down her enthusiasm as he turned to devein the shrimp in the sink. His eyes were kept glued to his hands as he tried his very best to ignore her presence.

She always did this, bothering him the moment he got home with that rotten dog and questions. Most recently, this little conversation that she seemed so keen on having the very moment he tried to relax from a day at work. Hints to leave him alone fell on deaf ears, and even now she stood rather close to him, invading a personal space that he was rather keen on maintaining, the proximity starting to fester as an intruder in the back of his mind. 

Alastor tried to focus on his task, to not think about how his wife continued to stand far too close to him, rolling his shoulders trying to release the building tension in his body. She wasn’t walking away, and he couldn’t help but think it was intentional. Putting him on edge in an attempt to break him.

“My dear!” He huffed, smile tightening when he knocked his knife against the side of the sink. “It’s honestly rather annoying to be constantly bothered when I’m really doing something for you!” Digging the tip of his chef’s knife along the back of each shrimp, he dug out the vein, holding each piece under the running water of the faucet until it was all cleaned before setting them aside in a separate bowl. “Please find something to do with yourself and leave me to cook dinner-  _ yet again _ \- in peace.”

“Cooking dinner is not just something ‘for me’ Alastor. You’ve always been the one who cooked the food! You enjoy it!” Mimzy reminded him, crossing her arms over her chest as she took  _ another _ step closer to him.

Even closer, she just had to get even closer. He felt his heart begin to beat faster in mounting frustration. “Ah yes, it’s always been me, hasn’t it? I guess, under that same vein of logic, I also just adore doing all the cleaning and the upkeep around the house! Laundry, housekeeping, lawn work,” Alastor fawned in fake adoration. “I certainly do enjoy doing so much while you pet that mongrel. Regardless of the chores I do so  _ love _ having to do, I would rather it if you would just let this go for the time being and let me focus.” 

Mimzy either chose to ignore the jab at her lack of upkeep around the house, or it was another thing that had gone completely over her head. “This isn’t something you just “let go” Alastor! It’s a big decision that I was hoping you’d take seriously, or at the very least hold up your promise that you would at least hear me out tonight,” Mimzy tried to plead with him, growing increasingly frustrated when he refused to turn around to face her.

Even when she walked up to the sink to gain his attention, now maybe just a mere foot beside him, he only turned back to the stove to dump all of the shrimp into the boiling stock, using the knife to push a few remaining pieces in when they stuck to the bowl. He was tense, very tense. After years of marriage, she could tell when he was starting to get all worked up. Maybe she just never realized she was the cause. “Alastor! Are you trying to ignore me?” She demanded, fed up with his passiveness. 

When he didn’t respond, she snapped. “I’m your wife! You can’t just  _ ignore me _ when I have something to say!” Reaching out, she grabbed his bicep and yanked him back around so he would be forced to face her. 

The sudden motion and contact caused Alastor to freeze, shoulders tensing as he was whipped around to face his wife. On instinct and sheer self-preservation, he gripped the knife he was holding tightly, raising it up to hold it defensively in front of him. With his other arm he harshly ripped himself away from Mimzy’s grasp, gripping the handle of the blade with both hands as he stared at her in complete shock. The usually present smile on his face was tight, stretching wide enough that it crinkled the corners of his eyes. But, it wasn’t a happy smile, his brows were raised, and his gaze was bugged in sheer surprise. 

The display was enough to make Mimzy go quiet, taking several big steps away from him as she realized he was still holding a knife. What if he had dropped it, or lost his balance? It could’ve easily cut one of them. “O-oh Alibear… I didn’t mean… I didn’t realize you were still holding that I,” She cut herself off when a scratching came from the glass door. Her dog was there waiting to be let in, and seeing it as a way out of this situation, Mimzy quickly let Katie in.

The dog ran into the house and down the hall towards the den, Mimzy turned to follow her. “I… Just let me know when dinner’s done, okay? I’ll leave you alone.” Maybe Alastor was right, things didn’t need to be discussed tonight, she could always try tomorrow. When tonight’s argument was forgotten and everything went back to normal, as it always did.

She left Alastor alone in the kitchen to gain his bearings. Slowly, he loosened his grip on the knife. Setting it down on the cutting board when his shoulders finally relaxed, he slumped against the counter. Trying to calm his ragged heartbeat with several long breaths, he turned back to face the stove, gripping the oven handle to keep his hands from trembling. 

Just… focus on dinner, and worry about the rest later.

\--

Charlie ended up stopping at one of the cafes on her way back to her dorm just before they closed for the evening, to pick up a sandwich and a bottle of water. This was more just so she could show Vaggie that she really went to get something to eat, anything to lessen the lies she had to tell, the better.

When she arrived back at the dorm she tried her best to be quiet, hoping that Vaggie was still on the phone with Loona, or better yet had decided to go to sleep early. Holding the water bottle under her arm as she unlocked the door with her free hand, she quietly slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. 

“Oh! You’re back! How was dinner?” Vaggie asked the moment Charlie entered, peering up from her coursework from her spot on her bed. She had a few textbooks stretched out along her comforter and her laptop was sitting on her lap. It looks like she had been working since shortly after Charlie had left. 

Of course, Charlie nearly jumped out of her skin when Vaggie spoke. Dropping her water bottle and nearly losing what was left of her sandwich. “Oh! Vaggie, I didn’t expect you to see me coming in, I kinda thought you were still going to be on the phone!” The blonde squealed, having to sidestep to avoid the water bottle landing square on her foot. Despite the heels she was wearing, it’d still no doubt hurt.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was going to scare you!” Her roommate apologized, closing her laptop and setting it down on top of one of the notebooks sprawled across her bed. Pausing, Vaggie seemed to note the heels, cocking her head to the side in surprise as she was finally taking in Charlie’s outfit. “Wow, you certainly dressed up for just grabbing some dinner,” She commented, getting to her feet to get a closer look at Charlie’s outfit.

Suddenly Charlie was very glad she had the sense to fix all her clothes before leaving the classroom. Unrolling the skirt so it was back to its full length, and buttoning up her shirt back up all the way. “O-oh! Yeah, I just… sometimes it’s nice to dress up, you know?” Charlie stammered, kicking off her heels and pushing them by the foot of her bed. 

“Even with heels? It must’ve been a nightmare to walk across campus with all that wind!” Vaggie remarked, watching Charlie as she began to pull out a change of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. “I thought you were wearing like… leggings and stuff before you left.” 

_ Crap, so she was paying attention at least somewhat,  _ Charlie cursed inwardly. It felt so terrible having to lie to her closest friend, even more so when they spent so much time together. It sat like a heavy stone in Charlie’s stomach, cold and nauseating. 

But, she supposed she was going to have to get used to the lying, if she still wanted to see Alastor.

“Yeah, I was! I changed before I left… I was just feeling a little bummed out today and,” Charlie fiddled with the ends of her hair as she fought with what to say next. “Sometimes, getting all dolled up and just going out for a little bit is all I need to feel better!” It wasn’t exactly a lie. 

“I get that, sometimes a little attention makes a person feel better,” Vaggie hummed, seemingly satisfied with the answer. “Are you going to take a shower before getting ready for bed? I know you already ate something but I’m going to order something and have it delivered, did you maybe want something? Maybe we could take a break from all this studying and watch a movie.” 

A shower suddenly sounded like the best idea ever to Charlie. She was certain that Alastor’s cologne was still clinging to her clothes and skin, and she was still a little sweaty on top of all that, a nice long shower was definitely in order. “Yeah, I think I’m going to head into the shower. If you could just get some side dish or something small from wherever you order from that’ll be fine.” Charlie picked up a towel that she kept hanging on the door, and the basket of toiletries that she kept on her dresser along with a change of clothes. “Thanks for offering Vaggie, I appreciate it.”

Giving her friend a warm smile, Charlie left the dorm once again. Heading down the hall towards the bathroom, she moved in a brisk jog until she was safely tucked away in one of the showers. Beginning to undress, she started to run her fingers along her collarbone and shoulder, feeling the remnants of bruised skin and bite marks that still hung around from her earlier rendezvous. A long shower, and no more tank tops for a while. Unless she was going off to tutoring, because who knows? Maybe he’ll like seeing the marks he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh boy, it's back down to reality for our dear Alastor, but it seems no one is completely innocent here!


	6. Distractions

Thursday couldn’t have rolled around quickly enough for Charlie, never had she been so excited to go to a class, especially since she came to college. Even when she was trying her best, schoolwork and classes were still a chore at the best of times. A lot was different from class now, at least this particular one. She found herself to be in one of the first groups of people that filed into the classroom, ten minutes before the lecture actually started. Charlie was even able to slip past the first few students to get over to the row of desks and seats in the front.

At first glance, the young woman was just a studious attendee ready to listen by how she quietly sat down and already began to set up her desk with her textbook and notepad. Everyone would just think she was making sure she could get a decent grade, but she’d be a dirty liar if she said her attentiveness was for a love of learning or willingness to be a good student. 

Charlie was naturally excited to see Alastor again, he was the only thing on her mind since she left the classroom that Saturday. When she showered that night after their rendezvous, she almost hated having to wash his scent off of her skin. The smell of his cologne still lingered in her mind even after she had gotten dressed and went back to her dorm to spend the evening with Vaggie. Later that night, she could still feel his hands ghosting over her body, a warm haze that sent shivers along her skin at the mere memory. When Charlie saw Alastor sitting at his desk as she entered, a thrill of excitement coursed down her spine. 

When she sat down he looked up from his laptop, his usual smile brightening for just a moment when their gazes locked. It only lasted a few short seconds before he looked back down at his computer- most likely bringing up the presentation for that day’s lecture- but it was enough to send the blonde’s heart racing. Time felt like it had slowed down when she saw him, that handsome smile seemed so bright and excited to see her, gaze soft as he watched her settle in her seat. 

Charlie couldn’t help but feel a warm sense of validation for her fawning. Just knowing that he was at least excited to see her was more than enough to send her swooning.

Before she risked getting caught by another student for staring, Charlie opened her textbook to flip to some random page to at least try and look like she was lost in some riveting paragraph about cognitive psychology.

The student's mind was stuck on something far from academic. She couldn’t remember any of the information from classes during the week, lectures from other professors were completely forgotten and her notes were a jumbled mess of incoherent sentences when she bothered to write something down. She'd definitely have to go online to get another look at the lecture notes before next week. All she could think about was her professor. Did he think of her too? Were images of her clogging his mind and making it hard to concentrate, just like her?

Dazed and staring blankly at the book, Charlie didn’t notice as other students filed into the classroom as class was about to begin. Only when Alastor got up from his desk and began to speak was her attention pulled away from her musing, quickly closing her textbook as he turned on the projector to start the lecture. 

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen! I hope everyone had a simply wonderful weekend. Let’s start the class by collecting all the homework that you were supposed to do over the weekend,” Alastor began, motioning his hand off to the side of the class closest to his desk. “As always, pass your work down to the person on your right. For those who are left with the stack, set them down on my desk." He instructed this as he picked up a clipboard from his desk and began to sound off roll call, listing off names as students would mumble off a tired ‘here’ or would just simply raise their hand. Alastor would tick off his sheet as he went on, staying focused on his sheet as he went down the list. 

“Charlotte Magne,” Alastor hummed, suddenly glancing up from his attendance sheet and quickly looking over at the young women. Charlie could only raise her hand and offer a squeaky ‘here.’ Alastor chuckled lightly, looking down at his sheet to mark off her name before calling out the other names from the class.

Once Alastor finished up attendance, he began to introduce this week’s topic of discussion, something about perception and memory. The first slideshow was pulled up once the projector finished booting and the screen of his laptop mirrored on the display sheet. 

Charlie pulled her worksheet from her backpack and passed it to the person next to her without much thought, more focused on Alastor as he continued to speak. He began to list off a few terms along with their definitions, so she did her best to listen, scribbling down everything he said as he gave off examples to give his students to better understand what each term means. It was easy to focus when you’re hanging onto every word the man presenting says. Alastor seemed to really love teaching his class, every sentence had such gusto and eagerness to it that it was easy to get invested in whatever he was talking about. 

That would be the case, but her concentration broke with a jolt when someone tapped her shoulder. They even went and tugged on her sleeve! Turning to face whoever was trying to gain her attention, she was faced with a young man who she had previously only known in passing. He usually didn’t sit besides her, taking a spot normally in the back of the class next to people Charlie could only guess were his friends. His name was Harold if she remembered correctly, about two years younger than her while still being in the same semester. They had never spoken before, not even pleasantries, so it made this sudden interruption all the more surprising.

“Oh! Hi...what’s up?” Charlie asked softly, pulling her arm off its resting position on the side of her desk and moving it into her lap.

Harold didn’t seem deterred by their prior lack of communication, a small smile on his face when Charlie turned to look at him. “Hey, do you have a pencil that I could borrow?” He whispered, pointing at her backpack. “I think I left all mine back at my dorm.”

Charlie glanced down at his closed notepad and otherwise empty desk, his backpack still zipped up and tucked under his desk. The request was innocent enough however, “Uh… yeah sure.” She reached down under her desk to pull a spare pen from her pencil case and handed it off to him without another word. Going back to her notes, she tries to catch up on a few terms that were missed due to the distraction. Alastor had already listed them off, but luckily the slide was still up on the projector and it would be easy enough to catch up.

But, it seemed that Harold was asking for more than just a pen. 

He tapped her arm, once again pulling her attention from Alastor and his lecture. “So, I’m Harold. You’re Charlotte, right?” His eyes were on her as she didn’t turn to face him, still making a feeble attempt to follow along with that class. Clearly unaware he pressed on, “The professor called you Charlotte, so I’m guessing that's your name.”

“I tend to go by Charlie,” She corrected, flipping to a new page once the previous one was filled with information. While Charlie was flattered that he was so eager to talk to her, it was tough to grasp how the middle of their class was an appropriate place to strike up a conversation. Resting her left elbow on the table, she leaned her cheek into her hand, tilting her head away as she continued to scribble away in her notebook. Maybe if she acted like she was trying to focus, he’d get the hint.

“Charlie? That’s a really cute nickname!” Harold hummed, scooting his desk over a little closer to Charlie’s to lean in close enough that she saw fit to lean away. He hasn’t even opened his notebook yet. “Isn’t this class really boring? I don’t know why I even had to take it for my major, it’s just two hours of him talking!”

“I actually really enjoy this class, the professor makes it interesting,” Charlie sighed, unable to remember the last time she had interacted with someone who so vehemently didn’t get that she wasn’t interested in talking. “Plus, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to do well. You’re missing some of the notes. If you hurry you’ll be able to catch up though.” Charlie was trying to hint that it was best to leave her be and focus on their work, trying to give this boy every chance she could to leave her alone. 

“So Charlie,” Harold continued, tilting his head so he could look at her face once more. “I was going to go out Friday night, I was wondering-”

“ **_Mr. Von Eldritch!_ ** ” Professor Germain commanded, stepping away from his podium to stand a few feet from the pair, arms crossed behind his back. He watched as the young man immediately leaned away from Charlie and turned to face him. The look of surprise was so entertainingly stretched across his features. “Surely you’re not interrupting my class to simply bother another student with your prattling!” 

Charlie went bright red, looking up at Alastor to immediately apologize. This is what she got for sharing her supplies, it always opened a door to talking and she should’ve remembered that. The girl was ready to scold herself as she opened her mouth to speak. 

She paused when she realized that Alastor wasn’t even looking at her. 

Alastor's gaze was squared on Harold, standing pin straight with a glare so intense it looked as though he had the intent of boring a hole straight through the student’s skull with it. While he was still wearing a smile, it had grown tight with displeasure, brows furrowed in agitation. 

Harold leaned back in his seat, picking up the pencil that he had borrowed from Charlie for the professor to see. “I was just asking her if I could borrow something to write with sir, so I can write notes. That’s all, no need to get so worked up!” The smirk on the young man’s face was less than appreciated. When he turned to face Charlie, she immediately tried to look away and focus on her paper. “Right  _ Charlie _ ? You were just being helpful to another student!”

Charlie wished she could disappear in her seat, was he really asking her to back him up on this? Charlie could only look up at Alastor with a pleading look. “U-um… that’s all I was trying to do. I was trying to go right back to my notes after.” 

He only gave Charlie a passing glance, acknowledging that she was speaking before going right back to focusing on Harold. Watching how the young man casually leaned back in his seat, looking up at him with his smug expression made Alastor’s blood boil.

Alastor kept his composure, though it was apparent to Charlie that the man wasn’t thrilled to be treated so casually in this professional setting. “Ah, to take notes I see.” He hummed, unfolding his arms from behind his back as he stepped closer to Harold’s desk, reaching out and plucking the student’s still closed notebook up from the counter before Harold could react. “Please forgive me, but I can’t recall you opening this notebook once during our class today. Frankly, I don’t seem to remember seeing you have this notebook out at all since the semester began. But, it seems I could be wrong, so let’s see what riveting notes you’ve taken during my lectures!”

“H-hey wait, you can’t just-” Harold tried to speak, sitting up in his seat to try and grab his notebook back from Alastor. But, the professor sidestepped away as he opened up one of the first few pages of the notebooks.

Charlie couldn’t help but chuckle as Alastor began to flip through page after blank page of the notebook. A few had little doodles on them, while others had just scribbles in ink and highlighter. Remaining silent as he continued to go through the book, a few of the other students peered up from their desks to see the book for themselves, murmuring amongst one another and laughing at the situation. “Ms. Magne, tell me, do you see anything of actually academic in the notepad?” He asked, tilting the page over to let her examine a poorly done doodle in pen. 

Trying to suppress her giggling, the blonde stood up a little from her desk to peer over at the book. “No, Professor Germain… I can’t say it does.”

Snapping the notebook closed, Alastor’s gaze drifted back over to Harold, relishing in the fact that the brash young man had slumped back into his seat and was now staring down at his desk. He could just make out the look of embarrassment and anger mixed across his features, and it was hysterical. 

“Some very interesting sketches you have here, Mr. Von Eldritch. Maybe you should become an art major, since it appears you don’t take your current line of study all too seriously.” Alastor dropped the notepad back on the desk, watching Harold flinch when it struck his hands, causing him to look back up at the Professor. “Your lack of participation has been noted, now please move your seat away from Ms. Magne, somewhere where you can’t bother her or other students. Unless you’d rather just leave my classroom and let the rest of us learn in peace.” Pointing to the door on the other side of the classroom, Alastor kept his gaze firmly locked on the young man. “Either way, I’d love to get back to the students who have enough respect to  _ pay attention _ . Like Charlotte was trying to do.”

Unsatisfied with the choices he was given, Harold picked up his backpack from the underside of his desk, taking the notebook and stuffing it inside before getting to his feet. Almost holding his breath to keep from seething he got up from his desk and took a step forward so he was standing about a foot in front of Alastor. Glaring at the professor, Harold looked like he was sizing up the older man, puffing out his chest and squaring his shoulders in an attempt to appear larger and intimidating. 

Alastor didn’t flinch, smugly looking down at the student he had a few good inches on, almost half a foot taller to be exact. His body was no longer tense as he locked eyes with Harold, smirking smugly when Harold pulled one last attempt to appear intimidating. Oh, the display was comical, to be sure. It took all of his composure to keep himself from just outright laughing.

“The Dean will be hearing about you taking my private property, you had no right to do that.” He huffed, forcing his voice to sound deeper and more masculine than it usually was. 

“Oh? Will he now? Then please, by all means, go and talk to them, Mr. Von Eldritch! I am absolutely on _the edge of my seat_ to see what they tell you!” Alastor once again motioned to the door, stepping aside to let him past. “You are _excused_ from my classroom, go have that conversation you are oh so certain will make a difference.” 

Harold looked like he was going to try to throw a punch or try instigate some sort of scuffle with Professor Germain. With the look of entitled rage so indignant on Harold's face, it really looked like he was about to snap. But, thankfully he just let out a huff, pushing past Alastor and letting himself out. He tried to slam the door shut for effect, but the doors closer kept it from rattling, maintaining a slow even pace as it shut quietly, leaving the classroom in silence once again. 

When the door was closed and all the murmuring had settled, Alastor walked back to his podium. “Now that  _ that _ is all settled, let us continue with the lecture!” Changing slides and continuing to give notes like the previous five minutes had never happened. He had been so calm during the whole ordeal, so in control while everything was thrown at him in an attempt to make him lose his cool. Charlie could only imagine what would even make this man lose his temper, did it exist at all? This was the first time he even called out a student on talking during one of his lectures, usually he would just ignore it.

Could he… have done it for her? 

____

The rest of the class was uneventful, Alastor went through the remainder of his lecture without interruption, and had even shared a video to help discuss a few of the tougher points that they had learned. By the time class ended, he had just enough time to pass out the rest of the homework they had out to the students as they began to leave. Charlie walked out with the rest of them, knowing that she was coming back later after a quick meal. 

Running off to the campus center and cafeteria, Charlie wasn’t really paying attention to those around her as she began to pick through one of the refrigerated displays to grab something small to eat quickly. She settled on a simple salad and went off to the register to pay, lost in thought as the line began to slowly shuffle forward.

All she could think of was what had happened in class. Having expected to have to deal with Harold the rest of the lecture, she was ready to just try and ignore him the best she could. But, Alastor hadn’t just simply ignored the distraction, he came up and had effectively shut Harold down in the most respectful way he possibly could. It was honestly really… attractive to see. The way he managed to speak so eloquently while still managing to completely call Harold out for his behavior. 

When it looked like the younger man wanted to start a fight, Alastor didn’t even flinch. Harold had gotten right up in his face and threatened him. But, even then the professor called his bluff, openly inviting the possibility of a discussion with the dean of the psychology building. Charlie would bet that Harold just ended up leaving the building and went back to his dorm to hide in embarrassment. There was no argument or action that could be taken against Alastor, all he had done was appropriately address a disruption in his classroom.

After she paid for her meal and found an empty seat in the lunch hall, she had about fifteen minutes to eat before her tutoring was supposed to start. Beginning to pick at her salad, she typed away on her phone, texting Vaggie about how her class had just ended and she was just grabbing a quick bite to eat before she went back to tutoring. Letting her know roughly when she would come back around to the dorm, and if she wanted to do anything after she got back.

Before she had an opportunity to actually hit send, Charlie began to hear someone calling out to her. A voice amongst the crowd began to shout out her name to gain her attention. Peering up from her phone to look around blindly for its source, Charlie couldn’t see anyone who stuck out in the crowd. Was she hearing things? She could’ve sworn that-

“ **Charlie!** There you are! I was hoping to bump into you after class!”

Oh.

_ Oh no, seriously? _

“Harold! Um… I had thought you were going to talk to the dean or something?” Charlie said, trying her very best to sound at least a little chipper. But, seeing him walk up to the table she was sitting at and help himself to the chair across from her, there was a sinking feeling in her stomach. Almost like she was about to be forced to talk to an annoying cousin.

“I did! Could you believe that they completely disregarded it? That professor stole my property and kicked me out of the class! But,  _ I _ was in the wrong because I interrupted his class! Completely ridiculous,” Harold huffed, leaning his elbow down against the table as he watched Charlie have a sudden burst of energy to finish as much of her salad as she could. Stabbing into it with her fork and taking a rather large bite, looking down at her phone once again to check the time.

_ Ten minutes… _

“You did interrupt the class trying to talk to me, though. People were trying to get work done- I was trying to get work done- and you were talking pretty loudly,” Charlie reminded him. Taking another substantial bite from her lunch, she kept her gaze down at her phone to finally send that text to Vaggie. “If you really had a question to ask me besides needing to borrow a pen, you could’ve found me after class or something.”

“Yeah, I do actually have something to ask you!” Harold said, causing Charlie to mentally slap herself for even saying anything. “So this weekend, my fraternity is having this huge party at one of the guy’s houses. You seem like you’d enjoy coming along and have some fun, so I thought I’d be nice and invite you!” He said, pulling out his phone to pull up the address. “I can give you where the house is right now, just put your number in my phone and I can text it to you later.”

A fraternity party? Charlie hadn’t even considered going to one of those when she started college, recounting the horror stories she’d read online or just second-hand accounts she’d hear from other students. Vaggie told her things that could happen at places like that, and even Angel had mentioned that those places might not be the best situations for her.

Popping a lid down on her half-eaten lunch, the plastic crinkled as the lid snapped into place. “Oh, thank you for the offer, but I'm not much of a party person, plus fraternities aren’t my thing.” Charlie said, taking another peek at her phone.

_ Five minutes… _

Harold seemed taken aback by her rejection, having already reached out to hand her his phone from across the table. Something that was ignored as Charlie began to pull her backpack back over her shoulder, sticking her phone back into her pocket before standing up from the table. “Oh, come on it’ll be a lot of fun! Just a bunch of music and drinking! I’ll be there so you can just stay with me if you’re nervous about being alone!”

Somehow that didn’t do anything to calm Charlie’s nerves, especially at the thought of being alone with practically a stranger all night drinking. “Like I said, it’s not my thing. I actually have to go too, I’ve got tutoring that I need to get to and I can’t be late. Again, thanks for the offer though!” Sidestepping out of the booth and dropping her unfinished lunch into a nearby bin, she made a beeline towards the nearest exit. Though aware of him calling after her, she tried her damnest to act like she couldn't hear him.

Trotting through one of the exits, Charlie made her way back towards the psychology building. Once again looking down at her phone to check the time, she figured that if she ran she would still be on time. If she ran fast enough maybe Harold wouldn’t see where she was going and try to catch up with her, either. The last thing she wanted was for him to find out where she was going and try to meet her there, possibly interrupting her and Alastor’s evening with countless questions or maybe an argument.

Even though the idea of Alastor kicking Harold’s butt because he tried to start something was… pretty attractive. 

Charlie managed to get into the building right on time, trying her best not to seem to giddy as she walked down the hall towards the classroom. When it neared, she saw that the door was left open like it always was when she came around. It made her heart skip a beat at the idea that he was waiting for her.

Yeah, getting interrupted was the last thing that she wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know his name is actually Seviathan or something, but that really wasn't going to work with a modern human AU. So I just stuck with Harold. 
> 
> ALSO! big thanks to daszomby on Tumblr for drawing some simply ADORABLE fanart for the story!! Please go check it out and give them a follow!
> 
> https://daszomby.tumblr.com/post/622814811000061952/did-some-sketching-after-reading-see-me-after


	7. That's My Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a little iffy on the grammar, my poor beta is sick! But, I promised you all the chapter today so here it is! I'll probably be updating it when she's done reading it over~

As the last few students filed out of the classroom, Alastor turned off the projector with the switch that sat on the side of his podium. He closed his laptop so that the end of his presentation flashed off from the projector’s display, and as the sheet began to rise into its casing that hung overhead, the low mechanical hum being the only sound after the last of the students left the lecture room.

Once the teacher was alone, he saw fit to start grading some of the homework he had collected earlier on. Pulling a spare chair over to his desk, he sat back down at his seat and neatened the stack in the corner of his desk. Taking a seat, he slipped on his reading glasses and began to go through the questions. Alastor read through the responses from his students, writing little notes of correction, or just crossing out sentences entirely before setting them aside in a different pile to pick up another paper to grade. 

Usually he would save this work for home, a reason to lock himself in his office and stay there until Mimzy went off to bed. This had been his routine since Saturday, spending his day outside the house- whether it be at work or just a walk- anything to ignore the situation at home. It worked for the first few days, Mimzy had left him completely to his own devices, even keeping her little rat of a dog at bay as well. It was a few blissful days of complete silence where he could do work and relax without an argument or some dog trying to bite at his ankles.

Of course, all good things have a habit of coming to a screeching halt. By Tuesday evening everything seemed to go back to the “normal” he had grown accustomed to, a bombardment of questions and inquiries about having a serious conversation as a dog yapped on, and on, and  _ on _ .

Alastor was never the one to bother himself with other people’s issues, at least in the sense of actually getting involved and speaking out in any one person’s favor. It was very entertaining to see little scuffles and arguments between individuals pan out as he observed silently, but when he was actually the one at risk for getting wrapped up in some trivial marriage drama, he wanted to stay as far away as possible. An argument that wasn’t worth having, this situation with Mimzy wasn’t something he needed to bother himself with. His wife couldn't take no for an answer, and overall she was extremely unreasonable. The way she'd get all worked up over such silliness and make a fool of herself with out of control emotions was as horrid as her affinity to just  _ grab him _ whenever she pleased.

Alastor shuddered before he could stop himself, shaking his head to clear the thoughts and memories that began to cloud his mind with their nervous static. Running his hand along his right bicep, his fingers smoothe over the marred skin that lay under his clothing as he lets out a long exhale.  _ Such nasty thoughts to think back to. _

This was no time to mope around, however. There was work that he needed to get done before tutoring later on. Leaning forward against the desk as he picked his pen back up, getting through about half the list without issue, working in relative silence to get things done as quickly as possible. When he pulled another sheet from the stack, he paused. Holding it closer as he read the name, it was Charlie’s homework. Her name was written in cute, bubbly handwriting and all her responses were neat. She has completed this during their tutoring, so he didn’t doubt all the responses were perfectly correct and there was no point in actually trying to grade it. Yet he didn’t set the paper down, instead running his thumb over some of the dried ink over her name.

Seeing her again today after their rendezvous was an emotional surprise. He never expected to feel his heart skip a beat when their eyes met, and it took an alarming amount of resolve to not just stare at her for the whole class. Alastor had never felt such an odd sensation and mix of emotions, it felt strange to actually be so invested in wanting to see another person as much as he wanted to see Charlie. 

Having to stare out blankly over the class, or focus on his projector display as he went on with his class, but Charlie’s eyes on him was always in the back of his mind. How- even though she had been invested in his class prior- she seemed so engrossed with his lecture, hanging on every word and seeming to write down everything he said. Gaze following him as he walked back and forth along the floor as he spoke, it filled him with such an odd sense of endearment, knowing that she seemed so enamored with him.

Maybe that was why he was able to pick up on Harold’s game so quickly.

Alastor had noticed the interruption the first time he had poked Charlie in the shoulder. The gesture had had such little tact and respect that it had sent alarms ringing through his head the moment it caught his eye, so he watched quietly. Continuing to lecture on as to not draw any attention to that he was aware and saw as Charlie repeatedly had tried to turn Harold down. She was ever sweet and respectful, trying every way she could think of to politely get him to leave her alone. But, the young man persisted, and it made Alastor’s blood boil.

There were other students around Harold that he could’ve bothered with his nonsense, and in any other situation, with any other student, Alastor would’ve most likely would’ve just ignored the distraction. Simply taking points off for participation or their homework, it’s what he mostly did when students decided to have their private discussions. Most conversations between students weren’t worth the trouble of getting involved with, especially when it would be resolved so quickly, where was the fun in that? But, something about now, something about how it was Charlie, made him want to react.

It was so satisfying to see the young man make an absolute fool of himself, and to have Charlie chime in at the end was just icing on the cake. The anger, the sheer embarrassment that was flushed across Harold’s face as he tried to intimidate Alastor was truly a spectacle to behold! The other students snickering around the classroom added to the entertainment, egging Alastor on with his taunting as he watched Harold storm out of the class in a huff. He could only hope that Charlie had been left alone after class, that that half an hour was just an uneventful stretch on time until she came back to tutoring-

“Professor! I’m here,” Charlie chimed, pulling Alastor from his daydreaming from her spot in the doorway of the classroom, smiling widely when his gaze settled on her. “Sorry if I’m a little late, I got held up at the cafeteria getting some lunch.”

His thoughts brightened the moment he saw her, setting down the homework he had been looking over before getting up to greet the blonde. “Charlie, my dear, it’s not an issue! I got a little distracted with some grading, I wouldn’t have even noticed if you were,” Alastor hummed as she pulled the classroom door close, waiting for the lock to make an audible click before bouncing over towards his desk. Holding out his hand to her as she reached the desk, she eagerly took it without hesitation, smiling bashfully when he brought it to his lips and planted a soft kiss to her knuckles. “How was your weekend?”

“Oh, it was great! My roommate and I watched movies and kind of just relaxed most of the time. I got caught up with all of my homework,” She explained, intertwining her fingers between his when he went to let her hand down. “Nothing really too special, how was yours?”

Guiding her back towards his desk, Alastor allowed her to keep her hand locked with his. “Oh, well my weekend was simply wonderful, how kind of you to ask!” Scooting the spare chair he had placed on the other side of the desk back and turning it over and helping her sit before pushing it back in for her, finally letting go of her hand. “Nice and quiet, just how I like it.”

Thanking him for the seat, Charlie pulled her book bag into her lap and began to go through her notebook for the homework. Pulling out a few slips of paper that he had given out for homework along with the textbook and a pencil, setting them out along half of the desk as Alastor sat himself across from her. Watching him for just a moment as he settled, rolling up his sleeves until the cuffs sat just above his elbows so his biceps were still covered before leaning forward against the desk with his forearms resting against its edge. “Now, let’s see what we can do about this homework,” he chimed as he picked up a pen that sat on the desk. 

Charlie nudged the paper to sit in the middle of the desk, letting him look over the worksheet he had assigned so he could help with some of the answers. Adjusting his glasses against the bridge of his nose. Making her recall how he was always such a gentleman, carrying himself with such an air of sophistication and professionalism, it was all so charming and endearing. Even when they were alone, even back on Saturday, he was still his professionally quirky self. It made it all the more enjoyable to be around him. 

It’s probably what made doing the homework so easy, questions came so naturally, unafraid about sounding silly or possibly asking an ‘obvious’ question. Alastor never made it seem like it, happy to answer anything and getting excited to go on a tangent about just how interesting certain answers were, motioning his hands theatrically and tapping his pen against her paper as he went on. Charlie could listen to him for hours, his particular mannerisms bringing a smile to her face, or a chuckle whenever he emphasized a particular word with a bold smile. 

But, having been lost in her muses, she didn’t realize that her homework had quickly become completed. Only realizing everything was done when he piped up, “Oh! Would you look at that, it seems we’re already done for today!” Jarring her from her thoughts when Alastor pulled the worksheet from the desk to read it over one last time, quickly going through each response to make sure it was all right. “Oh yes, this is all perfect. I’d take this back with you to study over the weekend so you can memorize things better, but we can always come back to this tomorrow during tutoring like a little pop quiz!” Handing the paper back to her so she could put it away in her bookbag, adjusting the rolled-up portion on his sleeves so they didn’t shift out of place.

“Th-that sounds like a plan, I’ll be sure to bring this back tomorrow,” Charlie stammered as she quickly began putting away the paper, she found herself looking for a reason to keep their session going. “But, before I go, I wanted to thank you… for earlier,” She added softly. Looking up from the bag in her lap to smile when Alastor looked back at her questioningly. “For what happened back during class, with that other student. Thank you for getting him to stop bothering me, I appreciate it.” Suddenly a feeling of awkwardness started to flush over her face, feeling like she was professing some deep secret. “It was… really nice of you.”

“Ah, yes,” he hummed, his smile stretching taut so his expression would betray his thoughts. Alastor couldn’t help but think back to the altercation earlier that day yet again and sending another shock of jealousy trickling up his spine, an irritating energy itching his skin and building up his body. Bothering him enough until he had to stand up from his seat behind the desk. “That little thing? Think nothing of it, my dear, I’d happily do it again.” 

It seemed like such a silly little thing to be commended for in hindsight. Alastor had barely given it any thought before he decided to interject. So, it was surprising to see how much Charlie seemed to have taken the action to heart. Noticing the soft crimson that was budding along her cheeks, or the coy smile she wore. 

“Besides, Ms. Magne, how could I possibly allow such a ruffian bother you like that? He seemed to have so little respect!” Charlie’s eager gaze continued to follow him as Alastor becan to make his way around the desk, only stopping when he reached her side. Reaching out his hand towards her and letting it rest on her shoulder, gently squeezing his fingers against her skin until she got the hint to stand in front of him. Dropping her bag to the ground so nothing sat between them.

“Still, you ended up interrupting the entire class to just get Harold to be quiet. I don’t remember you doing that for any other student, so I just… I guess I couldn’t help but think…” Charlie's words trailed off in a jumble of emotion as she looked up at Alastor. It felt really silly to suddenly be getting all caught up with a simple thank you, getting all tongue tied and fluster over something as trivial as this. 

He stood there watching her, taking in how she gazed up at him with bated breath; hanging on his words with great interest. Filling him with an egotistical pride when her body seemed to lean forward when his hand rested on the curve of her waist, melting against his touch so he could pull her even closer. “Well, if I’m being truthful dear, you don’t think I’d let some simple minded college boy try to flirt with you during my class, do you?” 

“That’s my job, after all.” 

Alastor couldn’t keep his smile from growing when he saw Charlie’s eyes grow wide in realization, the once soft blush quickly grew into a dark flush. Her fingers quickly reached up to grip handfuls of his shirt and bury her face against his shirt, chuckling warmly when he could’ve sworn she started squealing from the comment. “I mean honestly darling, you didn’t think I was going to just stand by and be undermined by some child? Certainly not!”

She kept her face hidden against his chest as he continued to speak, overcome with intense realization of the true intentions of his actions. A warmth rushing through her chest and fanning out her entire body, causing Charlie to shiver and hold to him even tighter. “Oh my god, Alastor! You’re too much…” She squeaked, trying to gain her composure.

“I’m being nothing but honest,” He laughed. Reaching between them to rest his hand under her chin, tilting it up so she was forced to look at him yet again, locking his gaze with hers and holding her there. “I’m the only one who gets to flirt with you here, and if any frat boy tries to change that I’ll have to have a word with them.” 

Charlie was taken aback by the sudden tone shift in his voice, seriousness edging his words as he watched her. No, she didn’t doubt the truth behind his comments, knowing full and well that this man always kept his word. And, the very idea of getting to see Alastor verbally spar with another student for her sent a thrill through Charlie. How could she not imagine various scenarios of him swooping in and scaring off some boy who tried his hand at flirting with her, she couldn’t help how her heart skipped a beat at the very idea. 

“That… that would be really sweet of you, Alastor. I hope you don’t have to do that though,” Charlie murmured, slowly reaching up to snake her arms around his neck, standing up on her tiptoes to try and reach his lips with a kiss. But, Alastor was the one who had to end up leaning down to close the gap between them, leaning forward and kissing her with a chuckle. 

It was a short kiss, their lips just grazing one anothers for just a moment before he pulled back, “Of course, it certainly wouldn’t be very appropriate to get into altercations with a bunch of students like that.” Pulling his hands away from her waist, he let them rest at his sides so she could move her arms from around his neck and step away from him.

\---

Charlie’s trip out of the classroom and back down the hall towards the exit was all a blur, skipping past students without much concern, being far too busy thinking about Alastor’s confession to give much attention to those around her. 

She couldn’t believe he really did that out of jealousy, him! Some mature professor with his whole life figured out, actually stopping his whole class to argue with another student who was trying to flirt with her! The blonde supposed that even someone as mature as Alastor could still be just as jealous and protective as boys her age, but coming from him, it just seemed so romantic and endearing. And, the kiss that they shared at the end of tutoring just sealed the deal for her.

Caught up in her day dreaming, she opened the door and exited the building onto one of the walkways, adjusting her bag over her shoulder as she walked back towards her dorm. Wondering about what Alastor might do after his evening class, would he be going straight home or did he maybe have some work to do? Would he be staying here on campus to grade papers, or maybe-

Charlie nearly toppled over when she felt someone suddenly grab her shoulders, causing her to squeal in surprise as she was spun around harshly to face whoever had grabbed her. “Charlie! I was hoping I was going to catch you before we went back to your dorm!” Angel cried, leaning in close to her with excitement brimming him in his eyes.    
  
“A-Angel! You scared me,” Charlie gasped as Angel nearly picked her up to spin her around. “What ever happened to just calling out my name to give me some heads up before you grab me like that!” 

“No time for that!” Angel insisted, pulling her off the sidewalk towards a nearby bench. “You have to tell me EVERYTHING about what happened on Saturday! I want all the details, you better not hold back any juicy bits!”

Charlie could barely gain her footing until she was plopped down on the wooden bench, nearly dropping her bag as Angel took an eager seat next to her, keeping a firm grip on one of her arms. Barely giving her time to settle in her seat before he was tugging her sleeve in impatience. “Angel, I don’t know if this is something I should be talking about in public. It’s kind of private, I don’t want anyone to overhear.”

Her trepidations only fueled his eagerness, practically vibrating with excitement from his spot on the bench. “So you did actually go through with it!  **_Haha_ ** I knew you had it in you blondie,” Angel encouraged. “Was it everything that you hoped it would be? Did you secure that passing grade?”

His barrage of questions and yearning sent a wave of giddiness through Charlie, it had been hard keeping things a secret this week. But with Angel here being so open to hearing everything that had happened, she finally had somewhere to vent. “Angel, it was even better than I had hoped it would be!”


	8. Oversharing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some light conversations about explicit content ahead, be warned!

Alastor found his evening class was over far too quickly, the sun barely beginning to set as the last few students filed out of his classroom to go back to their dorms or any last night lectures. Leaving him alone in his classroom to finish packing up the last few ungraded papers into his briefcase before he too called it an evening, locking his classroom door and walking briskly down the hall towards the exit. On occasion, he would stay here at his desk until all his work was complete, but tonight it seemed that taking the rest of his work home was more than enough of an excuse to lock himself in his office for the rest of the night. Play some music on his record player and spend the whole night there until he could go to bed without a fuss.

Alastor was certain that there was an expectation for him to cook dinner when we got home, but he couldn’t bring himself to even imagine having to stay in the kitchen for however long it’d take to prepare something. With a wife chewing his ear out and a rat of a dog literally chewing on his leg, dinner could be whatever leftovers he had bothered to make for a previous dinner, he was certain that there was something of value left in the fridge that Mimzy could heat up for herself without pestering him to make anything different. But, if she truly didn’t feel like having anything that was already prepared, she could call upon any number of restaurants that delivered.

After all, spending a few extra dollars was worth far more than risking having her rehash the same tired conversation.

It was a mostly quiet walk back towards his car, no passing student thought to bother him as he walked from the psychology hall into the closest parking lot, over to his reserved spot where his classic car was sitting pristine. Pulling his set of keys from his pocket and undoing the manual lock, he sets his briefcase in the passenger seat beside him, starting the car as the engine immediately roared to life. Once it settled down and maintained a low hum, he pulled out of the spot and through campus back towards home. 

The drive home was pleasant enough, the radio tuned to some old jazz. The music fizzled over the old car radio as the static periodically tuned in and out. Alastor didn’t mind, it fit with the older music, adding a sense of age to the already vintage tune. 

Traffic was light, all the usual rush hour giving way to just a few cars eager to take the fast lane home. While his car- as old as it was- could easily maintain speed, he chose to keep himself at a more leisurely pace.

Arriving home, Alastor couldn’t shake the all too familiar pang of apprehension that bubbled in his gut as he pulled his car into the driveway. Just the mere memory of barking already sent him itching to just drive away or go for a nice long walk, but he knew that any attempt of trying to delay walking through his front door would result in numerous phone calls questioning his whereabouts. Somehow the idea of relentless phone calls was more irritating than just trying to lock himself in his office with some music.

Leaning up to press the garage doors button clipped to the sun visor, a voice suddenly called out to him, loud enough to be heard over the static-filled swing and the low rumble of the car engine, “Alastor! There you are!” Immediately he pulled his hand away, glancing around until his gaze settled on the front porch of his neighbors’ house. There he spotted his neighbor Rosie, sitting on the small bench she had set up by her door, waving him over when Alastor spotted her. “Do you have a moment?”

Rosie had been his neighbor ever since he moved into this house four years ago, having lived here for most of her adult life with her husband Franklin, who had passed away just before Alastor had bought the property next door. The woman was about his age, and she shared the same manners and 'old soul' nature that Alastor had. The two of them had a lot in common, and it provided a nice sense of calm and conversation whenever he was looking for that. 

Well, he certainly wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and a nice conversation with his friendly neighbor was a pleasant way to end an evening. This opportunity was something that was going to be much easier to wave off if Mimzy actually questioned his tardiness. Any little distraction was always welcomed. 

Switching off the engine, Alastor was content leaving his old corvette sitting in the driveway for a moment along with his briefcase. Stepping out of his car, he closed and locked the door before he walked around the vehicle towards his neighbor’s house. “Rosie, darling! It’s been far too long since we’ve last spoken, how are you dear?” He cheered, stepping over the small fence that was set up along the sides of his driveway, dividing up the two properties.

“I’ve been simply wonderful!” Rosie replied, leaning up against the railing so she could watch him cross the small lawn until he could follow the small pathway that led over to the porch. Scooting over on the bench to offer Alastor a spot as he hopped up the steps, she hums. “The boutique has been doing quite well this year, I have several wedding and bridesmaids dresses to customize! Not to mention a few prom outfits a few of the richer girls in town just  _ have _ to have me design.” 

When Alastor approached, he noticed that Rosie had two glasses of wine perched on the table beside her along with an open bottle. One of the fine crystal glasses was only half full of the alcohol, with smudges of her dark burgundy lipstick along the rim, complimenting the berry color of the wine. The other glass was left completely untouched and empty, sitting undisturbed beside her glass. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Considering you had already a glass set up for me, dear, I assume you already knew the answer was going to be yes,” Alastor chuckled, settling down on the open spot beside her on the bench watching as Rosie picked up the green bottle and began to pour a tall glass of wine. 

“Nothing gets by you Alastor, you’re too smart for your own good,” Rosie hummed, handing the glass over to him before picking up her own to take a sip. 

Alastor took the glass without hesitation, taking a quick sip before he continued “Along the same vein of my overwhelming intelligence, I can’t help but assume that you probably had something you wanted to discuss, besides the nice wine?” Alastor hummed nonchalantly, taking a long drink from his glass. He ignored how Rosie shot him a bit of a surprised glance when he so easily picked through her thinly veiled rouse. “Oh come on dear. We might be friends- dear friends at that- but when was the last time you called me over to your house for such an impromptu get together? It’s certainly more your style to call me and plan something for the next week,” Alastor chuckled. 

“I just thought you would appreciate some pleasantries at first. It’s usually how conversations are started, are they not?" Rosie reasoned, setting her wine glass back on the little table that sat beside her. “We’re still friends, and I would still like to just have a normal conversation first.”

“All our conversations are usually just pleasantries, dear. If you have something that you would like to discuss, you might as well be upfront with it,” Alastor reminded her, keeping a hold on the neck of his glass while he balanced the base of it on his knee. “You know I’m not one who’s known for  _ beating around the bush,” _

“Oh Alastor, if that’s how you want to go about things. Mimzy spoke to me the other night, I just wanted to hear your side of the argument.”

\--

“So you two did it?!” Angel asked in a loud whisper, finally managing to understand that this conversation was best suited for a more hushed tone. But his iron grip on her shoulders remained as Charlie began to relive the past week of her life. 

“I went there on Saturday after you and I spoke,” Charlie murmured, a rosy blush already beginning to creep along her face as memories of Saturday came flooding over her. Pressing her fingers against her cheeks to try and help alleviate the flush, she deliberately takes a moment to respond. Charlie was always sort of private when it came to things like this, it always seemed so odd to talk publicly about matters that were so intimate. Plus with the added secrecy of who Alastor was in relation to her, it was a little too dangerous to be so  _ loose-lipped _ about the intimacy.

Angel did already know that she was considering this, having helped her through her fears and even picked an outfit out for her. If there was anyone who was going to keep her secret, it was going to be Angel. Seeing how wide-eyed and excited he was to hear about what happened, how bad could telling him really be? 

“The moment I got there and closed the door, there was already this tension. The way he was looking at me, how he took my hand and guided me back towards the desk,” Charlie could feel his fingertips graze against her knuckles at the memory, clasping her other hand over it to try and hold onto that warmth. “He knew immediately why I was there, because I didn’t bring my book bag with me. How crazy is that? He could just tell why I was there.”

“Because, that’s why he invited you in the first place! If you showed up it was safe to assume that you were totally DTF!” Angel exclaimed to thankfully a mostly empty courtyard, save for the two of them. His hands left her shoulders to grip the wood of the bench. “Don’t stop now girl, you’re just getting to the good part? You gotta tell me, is he hung? A guy as prim and proper as him is definitely hiding a big ol-”

“UH-HUH, YEP! You don’t need to finish that sentence Angel, I know what you mean,” Charlie sputtered, springing forward to cover his mouth before he could say anything that sent her blush into a full-blown sunburn. 

Charlie felt a pang of apprehension and looked down at her feet. Of course he was going to ask for all the nitty-gritty details, it would’ve been out of character for him not to! It just felt so weird talking about a partners endowment to a third party. Was this an invasion of Alastor’s privacy? It had to be, but who was Angel going to tell? He wasn’t dumb enough to voice these sort of things to random people, and he knew what was at stake if he did. 

Slowly pulling her hands away from his mouth before he could pull them away himself, she held them out in front of her as she fought with the best way of wording things without giving too much away. “W-we don’t need to get into such graphic descriptions like that b-but uhh…” Slowly, she moved her hands apart, extending her pointer fingers and roughly measuring out his length best she could off of her memory. “L-like this, maybe a little bigger? But it was um… pretty thick too so, that’s really what makes it better, right?”

Angel eyed her measurement with excitement, “Oh ho yeah, depending on what you like that can  _ definitely _ be more important.” Leaning closer as his imagination ran wild, he grins. “Okay, okay. So what happened next? Was he interested in any foreplay or did he just want to get right to it? Paint a picture for me, Charlie, don’t skimp on the details for vulgarity sake.” 

“Come on Angel, you know that I’m bad at talking about this stuff. Can’t I just say we went all the way and leave it at that?” Charlie whines, unable to keep herself from dropping her hands into her lap.

Angel only laughed at his friend’s discomfort, leaning over to drape his arm over her shoulders to pull her in close. “Oh, no-no- _ no.  _ This is payment for all the help that I offered you last week. I want to hear everything he said to you, every move he made, every dirty little noise and curse you uttered, and I want to hear it all right now.”

\--

Alastor immediately found himself on edge, the all too familiar sensation of his muscles tensing and the itch to get up and walk away without another word. Instead, he turns to his friend in surprise, sitting up straighter in his seat. “Oh? When did you have the time to speak with Mimzy?”

“She came over the other day when you were at work,” Rosie replied, picking up the bottle of wine to top off both of their glasses. She hoped that a little more alcohol would loosen her friend up enough to not immediately clam up. “She came over and told me her side of what happened. Considering her proclivity to be rather outlandish and exaggerate certain aspects of a story, I thought it would do me some good to hear what you had to say before I do anything she asked of me.” 

Alastor accepted the extra wine without a fight, sipping from his glass in silence. “There isn’t much to say unfortunately. It’s just some marital disagreements and a classic case of her never wanting to listen,” He said simply, keeping his eyes on the warm reflections of the wine throughout the crystal of the cup, turning it around to watch the colors and light refract against his lap. “A lot of private matters that frankly I’m not too pleased to hear that she was so frivolous in sharing.”

“You know Mimzy, Alastor, she wants things to smooth over quickly without much fuss.” Rosie couldn’t say much besides that, already seeing that Alastor wasn’t going to give away too many details. Not that she expected to hear much beyond a generalized statement that devoided him of any blame. 

He wasn’t one to talk about his personal business, and Rosie knew she’d be lucky to receive anything besides what she had already heard, especially since Alastor was aware that it was Mimzy who was the one asking, not Rosie herself. “Off the record, though. Is there actually anything going on? You know that I wouldn’t tell Mimzy anything you didn’t want me too, you’re my friend first and foremost.”

The only response she received was a quiet hum of acknowledgment.

“I can’t help but be interested in why the two of you have been arguing so much recently,” Rosie continued, vaguely aware of how Alastor seemed to finally perk back up to the conversation at the mere utterance.    
  
“Oh, she told you  _ why _ she’s been pestering me, has she?” Alastor asked quietly, the corners of his ever-present smile trembling ever so slightly as his grip tightened on the stem of the glass, as Rosie continued.

“She did! I suppose she was hoping that it would make me feel bad for her, but honestly I see her frustration from a strictly generalized standpoint. You’re both in your early thirties, have a stable source of income, enough that Mimzy doesn’t even need to work. I suppose that she thinks it’s expected that the two of you would start-”

Alastor didn’t let Rosie finish her sentence as he began to feel the familiar icy twinge of annoyance fizzle up his spine. He quickly stands up from his spot beside her on the bench with a barely audible growl. “Rosie,  _ my dear _ . I did not come here to be lectured about my marriage by you when it’s quite frankly none of your business.” He wasn’t facing her, but Rosie could just barely see how tight his smile had gotten, lips parted and slightly curled in almost a snarl of contempt as he leaned forward to rest his arms against the railing of her porch, after setting his now empty glass down by his feet to avoid the risk of dropping it or squeezing it too hard. “No matter how friendly we tend to be with one another, it’s not a matter that concerns anyone besides Mimzy and I.”

She couldn’t repress the sigh of frustration of her friend’s stubbornness, having at least expected Alastor to say something, anything that she could use, but Alastor had definitely decided that this conversation was more or less over. “Alright Alastor, I’m not about to force you to talk about this, especially since you look like you’re about to break some of my fine crystal.” Standing up herself, Rosie picked up Alastor’s discarded glass to put it safely back on the table beside her own. “But, I will say this: it’s not something that you should do if it makes you uncomfortable.” She quietly states this as she met him by the railing, maintaining an arm’s length of distance between them.

The silence was long and tense, and Rosie was itching to change something up to lighten the mood. “How about work? I remember you telling me that your students just had their midterms, how did those go?”

\---

Charlie felt like she was about to overheat, her whole body flushed with a deep cherry as she finally managed to tell Angel everything he wanted to hear. Her face was buried in her hands so she didn’t have to see Angel's expression after all the details she had gone into. 

“Oh my, Toots! I didn’t know you had that in you!” Angel cheers, fanning himself with his hand to cool off the slight pink that had even washed over his own face. “I mean, I knew you were probably going to go through with it, but  _ damn girl _ you really went for it! I’m proud of ya! You wanted that dick and you went for it!” 

“Y-yeah… I guess I did.” A weird sense of relief washed over her after being able to finally tell someone about what was going on. Hearing Angel be so supportive and helpful, she finally removes her hands from her face to let out a long sigh of relief, “Thanks, Angel… it’s really nice to finally be able to talk about this stuff. I’ve been hiding it all week and it’s kind of been eating away at me because I wasn’t able to share anything.”

“Oh of course sugar, gosh, I can’t imagine having to keep it from everyone. You snagged yourself such a hunk! If I was in your shoes, I’d be itching to brag about it too,” He fawned, leaning back along the bench to rest his legs in Charlie’s lap and crossing his arms back behind his head. “Vaggie- despite all that caring she does- is still a total stick in the mud, I can’t imagine being stuck living with her if you want to just be wild! Oh, you’d never hear the end of it if she found out! She’d be screaming and carrying on and on about ethics and all sorts of bullshit.”

“You don’t have to remind me, Angel. Trying to leave the room on Saturday was maybe one of the scariest moments of my life. I thought she was going to ask about my outfit, or where I was going. I knew that I’d be stuck if she tried, I just got so lucky that she was on the phone with Loona when I left,” Charlie murmured, beginning to play with the laces of Angel's boots. “It’ll be easier from now on, since it’ll just be regular tutoring sessions, like after our class today and another on Friday. She already knows about those times, so it’s easy to just leave and not have to explain myself time and time again.”

“So you did go back today for ‘tutoring?’” Angel teased, nudging her knee with the heel of his shoe with a quiet wolf whistle. “Already going back for round two, girl I can’t really blame you.”

“We didn’t have sex today, Angel. We just did my homework and talked. Today there was this guy in class who started talking to me, and he was really pestering me talking about everything besides the lecture. Alastor stopped the entire class to tell him to be quiet and to stop bothering me. Of course you might think that would be normal for a professor to do, but I don’t remember him ever doing something like that before! When the student tried to talk back, Alastor kicked him out of the class! For me! It was really sweet… albeit in an odd way.” It must seem so odd- from Angel’s perspective- to be fawning over something as simple as this, but Charlie couldn’t help it.

“After tutoring ended, you know what he said to me? He… he said that he was the only one who was allowed to flirt with me, and… it was really romantic! We kissed and then I left, but gosh I’m really excited for tomorrow,” There was no stopping the warm smile that spread across her features as she averted her gaze. Charlie wasn’t certain she wanted to fight the smile anyway. The memory was too genuine to try and hold back her fondness, and it brought back the sensation of him holding her after their tutoring that day, his words humming in the very back of her head and causing her body to shiver. 

“Today was really nice, maybe even better than Saturday because… it felt real,” She murmured at last. Looking up at her friend yet again, however, she saw that his smile had disappeared, replaced with an eerie display of concern.

\---

“So you tutor now?” Rosie asked after Alastor had finished speaking, turning to him with a look of surprise. “And here I was so certain after that first semester you had sworn off even attempting it.”

Alastor couldn’t help the slight grimace he felt creeping at the memory of that first semester, with that particular student that made him swear off private tutoring forever. However, he was even more intrigued that she had remembered such a passing comment. “Ah, well. I haven’t come across such a sincere student! Poor girl didn’t do well on her midterm, and asked me if I could help her with homework after our classes so she could understand everything better. How was I able to say no to such a plight?”

“I couldn’t say, I’m sure she sounded very convincing! Certainly enough to make you go back on your word,” Rosie hummed thoughtfully. She watched Alastor very carefully, seeing how his expression and posture had immediately shifted upon the changing of their conversation, shoulders relaxed, eyes bright. It was… interesting.

“So, I started helping her during my lunch break, and I believe she’s really improving!” 

“You’ve only been tutoring her for a week, how could you be so sure?”

“Because I’ve never seen a student with such an actual interest in learning from me. Students today are just scraping by to get a passing grade, or not even pass at all! You’d think it’d be different in such a prestigious school, but it isn’t! She’s actually attentive and seems genuinely interested in what I have to teach her, she asks real questions and has real discussions. She works hard when we’re together and I don’t doubt that she works hard at home as well.” Alastor continued praising her, unable to stop himself from practically fawning over the younger woman. Thinking about their session today, and the previous ones, he mentally noted how positive and interesting she was to be around.

“When you word it like that Alastor, I must agree with you! This girl certainly seems like a student who genuinely wants to learn what you have to teach her… whatever that may be.” The last part of her sentence trailed off in a murmur, but Alastor seemed to have completely missed what she had said in the first place.

“Charlie is an interesting creature, and I truly believe she can go far with the right help.”

“ _ Charlie _ …? That’s an interesting name for a young woman.”

“Ah, well her name is actually Charlotte. But, she asked me to call her by her nickname.”

“Since when do you forgo professionalism with your students by doing something as casual as calling one by her  _ nickname _ ?” Rosie suddenly asked, the curtness of the question snapping the man from his musing. Alastor was suddenly all too aware of how she was looking at him. Her brows ever so slightly furrowed in concern, head tilted to the side quizzically.

The look finally made Alastor realize that he- for the first time in his very private life- had managed to severely overshare. Now hyper-aware of everything he had said, every fawning word and warm glance over the lawn while he was lost in thought about the college student. A hot wash of embarrassment tinting his cheeks ever so slightly before he began to severely backtrack on all his words. 

Sharply clearing his throat, he took a step back from the railing. “Oh, well you know how it goes, my dear. When you’re working with a student who might need a little extra help, things might go more smoothly if… you let the student get a little comfortable with your presence when you have to be alone with them,” Alastor quickly added, adjusting the tie that suddenly felt too tight around his neck. “It’d be much harder to get her to listen to me if she was uncomfortable in my presence, obviously.”

Rosie let out a quiet hum, a slight smile pressing against her lips as she watched Alastor quickly begin to walk towards the steps that led off her porch. “But, of course. You’d certainly want your students to be comfortable to be around you, especially when you’re alone with them,” She reiterated. 

“Just doing my job as her professor, of course! All meant to help her learn and pass my class!” Hearing the way she reconstructed his words sent another wave of embarrassment over him, quickly hopping down the steps and making his way across the pathway. “I’m so sorry to call this evening so abruptly to an end, my dear but I just remembered that I have some work that I just have to get done before tomorrow, I know you understand!”

“I certainly do, have a good night Alastor,” Rosie called after him as she watched the younger man of a few years quickly restart his car to pull it safely into his garage, leaving her to mull over the conversation they had. 

“My, my, Mr. Germain… just how  _ comfortable _ are you with this little student of yours?”

\---

“Angel I don’t understand, you were the one who was telling me to go for this! Why are you suddenly telling me that going back  _ isn’t  _ a good idea?” Charlie helplessly demanded, back on her feet with her arms firmly crossed over her chest. Angel, who was still laying out across the bench- slowly sat up to lean back on his hands with an exasperated sigh. 

“Hey girly, don’t go twisting my words! I said it was a good idea for you to get some dick and a passing grade! You know that I’m always up for getting your rocks off! But, I was watching you just now, I saw that look in your eyes when you were talking about what happened today! It’s starting to seem like you’re taking this  _ way _ too seriously, Charlie.”

Frustration began to frazzle her mind and flush her features, and she was beginning to find it difficult to notvshout at her friend for his complete flip flop in what she should do. Charlie had to dig her nails into her own forearms, an attempt to ground herself. “I have no idea what you’re referring to, Angel. I’ve only ever done what you told me to do, and I’ve gotten exactly where I wanted to be! I’ve secured a passing grade and some... Some fun with it too. I’m just having fun, isn’t that what you were hoping I’d get?” 

Charlie continued to whine indignantly as Angel only shook his head in disapproval. Confused about why her friend and only confidant was suddenly going back on everything he had said, she watched him in anger and confusion as he tried to explain himself.

“Having fun would just be that, having some fun! Some light flirting in class you can get away with, some romps during tutoring, then he does your homework for you or something while you go out to a party! What you just described wasn’t just harmless fun, you just went off on this whole fucken’ shpeal about how he swooped in and protected ya’ honor like some shining knight! I saw that look in your eyes, little missy, and that was the look of some silly little girl getting all giddy over a first date!” Angel countered, leaning back against the back of the bench to match her stance, crossing his arms over his own chest. “You’re taking it  _ way _ too seriously, you can’t actually date this guy Charlie, you know that right?”

The blonde could only stay silent as all her eagerness to share and her comfort quickly fizzled away, leaving nothing but quickly rising walls as she stared at Angel. All the gusto she had coming into this conversation had completely deflated in a matter of moments.

Of course, Charlie knew that she couldn’t really date Alastor in a traditional sense. He was a married man, and her professor. If they tried to go out on a date, someone from the school could easily see them together, and everything would go horribly wrong. The mere concept of getting caught was an idea that she had been fretting over since Angel pushed her into this whole fiasco. How could it not be abundantly clear that she was brought up to speed on the limitations of this arrangement?

But, after hearing Angel say it so plainly- the idea of having to take a step back caused her stomach to do flips of apprehension. A cold stone of dread formed in the back of her throat, and she couldn’t swallow it back down. 

Yes, she knew nothing could come from this… but why was it so hard to admit all of a sudden?

“Blondie… you know you can’t actually date this guy,  _ right _ ?” Angel persisted in a softer tone, finally getting up from his spot on the bench to stand in front of her. Resting his hands square on her shoulders, he tried to rouse her from her thoughts. 

Charlie shrugged off Angel’s hands, letting out a wry chuckle, more to force a semblance of a smile on her face. “I know I can’t date him, Angel, that’s not what this was for. You know me though, just a hopeless romantic. But, I’ll be fine!” Was she telling him, or herself?

“Yeah yeah, hopeless romantic. If you’re starting to catch feelings for this guy, maybe stopping this whole tutoring thing is a good idea.” Angel suggested, scooping up her bag from the ground and handing it off to her, signaling that they were going to start walking back towards her dorm. “You did this for your grades and that’s it, don’t forget that.”

“Yeah. For my grades…” Charlie repeated this as she stared down at her feet, following him back down the main pathway towards her dorm, staying behind him to let others walk along the opposite side of the path.

How was she supposed to stop seeing Alastor now, after how successful today was with him basically admitting his feelings? Only he could flirt with her, he even offered to _ fight _ someone for her! What else was she supposed to think? How could she  _ not _ take something like that seriously? Alastor might- in the end- truly just consider this whole arrangement short term, and she would be able to live with that if it was true. 

But… could she really stop now with that uncertainty? For all she knew, there could be something real here, and her stopping now might keep her from something great.

She couldn’t… 

Quick on her feet, Charlie managed to speak just as they entered the dormitory. “But, if I stop going to tutoring, Vaggie’s going to question that, won’t she? I have to go somewhere for the rest of the semester!”

It was enough to make Angel look back at her, at least enough to know that he had at least acknowledged what she had said. “ I guess that’s true… Just go sit in the library or somethin’ girl, watch a movie or go for a walk. Consider this is free time to just completely veg out without our dear friend breathing down ya neck. As long as you’re not getting too cozy with ya professor, I don’t care where you hang out Charlie,” the young man huffed as he trotted up the stairs towards her and Vaggie’s room. 

“Yeah.. the library… that sounds like a nice place to hang out from now on. Thanks for the tip, Angel.” Charlie murmured, finally letting the conversation go after the two of them made it the room.

It hurt that there was yet another person she had to lie to, but Charlie wasn’t about to let something so nice go… not yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh! Here we go! I'm so excited to finally be sharing this story with everyone! I've spent all of May preparing chapters and getting feedback from my friends to make this story as best as it can be! I feel like this might be my Magnum Opus, and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks!


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